New Hope in the US House: 3 Women From Virginia

Personal Note
We'd like to meet the chief political minds behind these winning campaigns. Call us.

Jennifer Wexton in Virginia's 10th Congressional District beat incumbent Republican Barbara Comstock with over 56% of the vote.

Wexton had been a well known Virginia state senator from Loudoun County, and she won the June congressional primary against a slew of Democratic opponents. She was an immediate favorite to knock out Comstock, widely considered the most vulnerable Republican in the nation. Wexton ran her campaign not so much as an insurgent but as a frontrunner protecting a huge lead. (Trump is sufficiently unpopular in her northern Virginia district. And she wasn't shy about being the resistance. "Change Is Coming" was one of her slogans.)

Loudoun County was jet fuel for Wexton. It's both the heart of and the population center for the 10th District. Government professionals, non-profit professionals, local business entrepreneurs, suburban Republican women. The 10th hasn't voted for a Democrat in over 60 years. But Wexton was already known and respected as a state senator. She won her seat in a special election in 2014 and was reelected in 2015 with over 56% of the vote. She had earned distinction as a lawyer and a prosecutor -- an assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney. Plus she'd done a ton of pro bono legal work, served as president of the local bar, and was appointed a special judge in Loudoun District Court.

Perhaps a new political icon -- Suburban Professional Woman.

Abigail Spanberger in Virginia's 7th Congressional District beat incumbent Tea Party Republican Dave Brat by a 6,500-vote margin. A Libertarian candidate got just over 1% of the vote.

Spanberger grew up in Short Pump, Virginia, in Henrico County. She attended J.R. Tucker High School’s Spanish immersion program, served as a Senate Page for US Senator Chuck Robb, and graduated from the University of Virginia. After college, she moved to Germany and earned her MBA from a dual-degree German-American program. She was picking up important languages for espionage.

Before the CIA, she was a federal law enforcement officer working narcotics and money laundering cases with the US Postal Inspection Service. With her background speaking multiple languages, Abigail joined the CIA as an Operations Officer (entering the clandestine service and specializing in counter-terrorism). She traveled and lived abroad collecting intelligence, managing assets, and overseeing high-profile programs. In 2014, she left government service to begin a career in the private sector with EAB, a higher education consulting firm. At EAB Spanberger has helped colleges and universities create diverse student bodies, increase graduation rates, and break down financial barriers to higher education.

Good introductory video:

Elaine Luria in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District beat incumbent Republican Scott Taylor with a little over 51% of the vote. The 2nd District contains the HDQs of Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.

Michael Tackett profiled Luria way back last January in the New York Times (along with two other women veterans of the Armed Forces running for high office in 2018):

Luria joined the Navy at the age of 17, eventually "majoring in" surface warfare at the Naval Academy. She rose to commander rank and served for 20 years before retiring.

"Luria said that she felt the pull to run for office after Mr. Trump’s election, and that her husband quit his job to help take over household duties so she could focus on campaigning .... she had earned a black belt in taekwondo, passed all the required endurance tests and flourished in the classroom .... After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she said, she felt compelled to stay in the Navy. She had a letter of resignation stuck in her desk, but never submitted it." 

Luria had the backing of the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) and ran a disciplined and (judging from my own in-box) relentless campaign.


But There Were Also 3 Heart-Breaks in Virginia

Organic farmer and writer Anthony Flaccavento in the 7th, whom I profiled back in July.

Investigative journalist Leslie Cockburn in the 5th, whom I profiled back on May 30th.

"Bold progressive activist" Jennifer Lewis in the 6th, whom I profiled in July.

Vote outcomes: Flaccavento didn't come close, Cockburn got almost 47%, and Lewis got 40%.

 Flaccavento's loss probably means it'll take years before another Democrat attempts it (I at least hear that from a political activist in the 7th). Cockburn (or someone like her) could possibly win it next time. And Lewis has something to build on.

An Organic Farmer Running in Virginia's 9th District

I just took a road trip up into Virginia's 9th Congressional District, which is huge, stretching from Cumberland Gap eastward and northward, taking in over 20 counties and parts of counties and also several major universities including Virginia Tech and Radford. It's the second largest district in the state and includes the coal fields of far southwest Virginia. The district is larger than the entire state of New Jersey.

On Saturday I happened onto a small-town July 4th parade in the district. Except for one -- and only one -- local politician and some dude driving a four-wheel recreational vehicle displaying a "Corey Stewart for Senate" placard, the parade was otherwise completely free of politicians, a remarkable void in itself, I thought.

(Corey Stewart, incidentally, is the white-supremacy-curious Republican candidate for Senate that is causing enormous heartache among mainstream and country club Republicans. There's a big article in this morning's WashPost about the split in the party over Stewart's candidacy. I noticed at the parade on Saturday that no one was applauding the dude with the Stewart placard.)

What I did notice everywhere else I went in the district were "Flaccavento for Congress" signs, from the smallest towns to good-sized cities. Anthony Flaccavento is the Democrat running against the incumbent Republican Morgan Griffith, whose reputation at least among the folks I spoke with is aloofness from his district and a disassociation from its problems. He was first elected in the 2010 Tea Party wave and shares those lack-of-sympathy values. The constant complaint I heard about Griffith: He never comes back to the district. He never holds townhall meetings with his constituents. (Sound familiar, Virginia Foxx?)

Anthony Flaccavento

Flaccavento is a farmer in Washington County. He ran against Griffith once before, in 2012, and didn't come close. I hear he's much more organized this time around and is working that huge district from one end to the other. He's recruiting 1,000 foot-soldier volunteers and holding 100 town meetings. He's got a populist message for those who'll listen. According to Carmen Forman:

Flaccavento is critical of the Democratic establishment because as he sees it, the party has abandoned working people, especially in rural areas.

“I am going to shout at the Democrats the whole way through this campaign because that needs to change,” he said. 

Flaccavento argues that progressives should not ignore rural communities. He launched a website called Rural Progressive Politics this summer to help make his case. 

His platform stresses that land, livelihood and community shape the way rural voters see politics and the world, and his campaign will focus on fostering healthy local communities. Flaccavento is an organic farmer, and much of his message stems from his consulting work devoted to growing healthy, sustainable regional economies.

“When we invest in local communities, when we invest in small, independent businesses and mid-size businesses, when we invest in innovative manufacturers, we get much, much, much more bang for the buck than the corporate giveaways that have become the foundation of most state and local economic development policies,” he said.

Vigorous local economies means fewer tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and lower taxes for small businesses, instead of significant tax breaks for major corporations that can afford to pay them, Flaccavento said.

Flaccavento is also an author and has a website which predates his campaign, "Bottom Up Economy, 'Cause Trickle Down Doesn't," where he advances the cause for a resurgence in rural America. His book on rural issues, "Building a Healthy Economy From the Bottom Up," was published by the University of Kentucky Press last year.

The 9th CD of Virginia is still considered "Safe Republican" territory, but we're pulling for Anthony Flaccavento to turn that around in 2018.