More than 100 people packed the Aquia Harbour Inn, the community center for the gated neighborhood in North Stafford, to see Yesli Vega, whose running for congress.

The Republican seeks to unseat Democrat Abigail Spanberger to represent Virginia’s 7th District, which includes Stafford County, and Prince William County, where Vega serves on the Board of County Supervisors.

Vega’s campaign stump came on the day Spanberger called for the ousting of Speaker of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, after Spanberger’s bill to reform congressional insider stock trading had languished in congress.

“This moment marks a failure of House leadership — and it’s yet another example of why I believe that the Democratic Party needs new leaders in the halls of Capitol Hill, as I have long made known. Rather than bring Members of Congress together who are passionate about this issue, leadership chose to ignore these voices, push them aside, and look for new ways they could string the media and the public along — and evade public criticism,” Spanberger states.

Spanberger doesn’t expect a vote on her legislation until after the November 8 election. As of June, Spanberger voted with Pelosi’s Democrat majority 100% of the time, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight. Alternatively, Spanberger voted with former President Donald Trump less than most other Democrats, only 8.7% of the time.

“That’s what a career politician does,” said Vega when Potomac Local News asked about Spanberger’s call to oust Pelosi. “She knows she’s in trouble, running scared, so it’s a little too late. People are not buying her lies anymore. They know exactly who she is and what she’s about.”

The energy among Vega supporters and campaign volunteers is rising in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Recent events in the area have attracted well over 100 supporters at rallies reminiscent of those held by Glenn Youngkin a year ago, who became Virginia’s first Republican governor since 2010.

Vega, a police officer, talked about rising crime rates, which she said are a product of the demoralizing effects of defunding the police movement, and the 2020 riots on officers across the country.

“We went from being greeted from grabbing our morning coffee to ‘if looks could kill,’ because you wear a uniform, because you’re an officer, being lumped up into a category, labeled, and called horrifying names for something you had nothing to do with,” said Vega.

The General Election is Tuesday, November 8, 2022.

• The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration is October 17, 2022.
• The deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you is October 28, 2022. Your local voter registration office must receive your request by 5 p.m.
• Voter registration offices open for early voting: Saturday, October 29, 2022.
• The last day of in-person early voting at the city’s voter registration office is Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 5 p.m.

By Tyler Arnold

(THE CENTER SQUARE) – Candidates for Virginia’s 7th District will debate October 21, a matchup of Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican challenger Yesli Vega.

The exchange is sponsored by the Prince William Committee of 100. The committee has yet to announce a time or location, and we’ll update this post when it does.

The congressional race is expected to be one of Virginia’s most competitive. Democrats are trying to maintain their slim majority in the House of Representatives.

Spanberger is serving her second term representing the district, but prior to her win, the 7th had been held by Republicans since the 1970s. Although the district went for Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin won the district comfortably only a year later. The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball both list the 7th as a Democrat-leaning district for the midterm elections.

Although Spanberger has positioned herself as a moderate, she has voted with Biden’s agenda on 100% of the issues, according to a tally from the elections analysis website FiveThirtyEight. She only voted with former President Donald Trump 8.7% during her time in office. The congresswoman has supported a new federal assault weapons ban. She has supported environmental policies, but was critical of the Green New Deal, and was critical of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Vega has argued that a free market is the best way to address inflation and other economic issues. She has criticized the U.S. Treasury for printing money and said that mandates and regulations were holding back the economy. She has also supported gun rights.

The election is six weeks away on Nov. 8.

Republican congressional candidates are focused on Prince William and Stafford counties.

Yesli Vega (R), a Board of County Supervisors member seeking to flip Virginia’s 7th Congressional seat, will hold a get-out-the-vote rally tomorrow, Saturday, September 24, at her campaign headquarters outside Quantico.

The event at 9:30 a.m. at 18354 Quantico Gateway Drive in Triangle aims to rally support for Vega in eastern Prince William, which is the most populated area in the 7th District that spans 10 counties, Culpeper, and Fredericksburg, as early voting for the November 8 General Election is underway.

Vega is running against two-term Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who last week attended a celebration at the White House to celebrate the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is a significant advance on congressional Democrats’ progressive plan, which aims to curb global warming, and authorizes 87,000 more IRS agents to audit citizens and businesses.

While Spanberger was at the White House celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act, news broke of continued rising costs, particularly food and housing costs rising to their most expensive levels since the Carter administration in 1979. Spanberger did not return our request for comment, asking about her support for the Inflation Reduction Act and when the bill would begin benefitting U.S. citizens.

Vega’s campaign event comes on the heels of a veterans’ roundtable held at the Globe and Laurel restaurant in Stafford County on Wednesday, September 21. The discussion ranged from the lack of services offered by the Veterans Services Administration, adjusting to civilian life, PTSD, and a discussion about a lack of accountability over the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, where many served.

Last weekend, Hung Cao barnstormed Virignia’s 10th Congressional District, with stops in Haymarket, Manassas, and the Prince William County Government Center in Woodbridge. Cao is challenging two-term incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton. The 10th District spans five counties and includes Manassas, Manassas Park, and Leesburg.

Wexton also voted twice for the inflation reduction act. Wexton cast her vote on her behalf and for Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), who was on vacation in Europe.

The Cook Political Report shows Virginia’s 7th District leans Democrat and estimates the 10th District will remain firmly in Democratic control following the November 8 General Election.

Early voting for the November 8 General Election begins today, September 23.

Need to know election info: 

• First day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office: Friday, September 23, 2022
• The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration is October 17, 2022.
•  The deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you is October 28, 2022. Your local voter registration office must receive your request by 5 p.m.
• Voter registration offices open for early voting: Saturday, October 29, 2022.
• The last day of in-person early voting at your local voter registration office: is Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 5 p.m.

The outlook for Abigail Spanberger (D) is looking better in her race to keep Virginia’s 7th Congressional seat. The Cook Political Report today moved Spanberger’s race against Republican Yesli Vega, a Prince William Board of County Supervisor member, from “toss-up to “lean Democratic.”

The move comes on the heels of Democrats’ successes in recent weeks, passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which addresses climate change, hiring 87,000 more IRS agents to audit citizens and small businesses, transferring some student loan debt to U.S. taxpayers and away from the borrower, and raiding the home of a former U.S. President Donald Trump to secure classified documents.

Until now, the 7th Congressional District, the 2nd in Virginia Beach, and the 10th in western Prince William County and Loudoun County were seen as competitive. The 7th Congressional District (full map here) includes eastern Prince William County, Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George and Caroline counties, and Fredericksburg city.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) advised his fellow Republicans seeking seats in Congress this fall.

“I think any candidate running today, if they are not focused on education, if they’re not focused on children and parents, then they are missing what I heard and I’m hearing from Virginians,” Youngkin told Potomac Local News during a visit to Colonial Forge High School on Thursday, September 1., 2022. “There are so many issues that families are worried about their kitchen, around their kitchen table, cost of living, and the ability to make enough money to pay the bills.”

Youngkin won the governorship in a November 2021 General Election, becoming the first Republican to win the highest office in the state since Bob McDonnell in 2009. Since then, the governor’s popularity has continued to increase, with a 55% approval rating.

On Thursday, Youngkin echoed one of this most vital campaign messages from a year ago — teachers and administrators in public schools must work in partnership with parents regarding students’ education. After seeing how some teachers conducted business during online learning during the pandemic, parents protested, saying they wanted more involvement in their child’s education.

The fight continues for conservatives in Loudoun County, where the father of a girl who was raped by a transgender student in a county high school protested during a School Board meeting and was arrested. It was a flashpoint in the parental rights movement last year.

According to the nonprofit Fight for Schools, Equality Loudoun posted on August 3 to its now defunct Twitter account, schools should never tell parents if their child is gay or transgender. Instead, it says children should tell their parents directly. “If you aren’t a safe space for your child, that’s on you,” the now-deleted Tweet stated.

Back in the 7th District, Spanberger shifted the campaign focus from national issues to Gov. Glenn Youngkin when she pressed him for answers on how the state will work to prevent another shutdown of Interstate 95 seen on January 3, 2022, snowstorm. At the time, the state was managed by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who had just 12 days left in office.

Top Virginia Republicans called Spanberger’s move a distraction and said they’re confident in winning for Vega.

“When Virginia’s previous Democrat Governor failed to act decisively in the face of last year’s storm–a product of distraction from his primary duties while he was consumed by the unexpected disclosure of his racist past–Spanberger was nowhere to be found and had paid no attention to disaster relief planning before the winter storm season,” Virginia Republican Party Chair Rich Anderson told Potomac Local News. “Governor Youngkin will apply the hard-learned lessons of the past to ensure this doesn’t happen again. He has a great roadmap to do so in the state report that resoundingly condemned the Democrat administration for its lack of leadership in disaster relief planning.”

Rep. Abigail Spanberger is shifting the campaign conversation from President Joe Biden and the recent progressive successes of the Democratic Party to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

The two-term incumbent Democrat sent a letter to Youngkin demanding answers to how his administration is working to prevent another shutdown of Interstate 95 during a snowstorm like Virginia experienced on January 3, 2022.

Drivers were stranded along a 50-mile stretch of highway between Dumfries and Carmel Church, near Kings Dominion, for more than 12 hours without food, water, heat, and access to restrooms. Specifically, Spanberger wants to know how Youngkin is implementing recommendations outlined in an April report to prevent another disaster from occurring.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was managing the state when the storm hit, 12 days before Youngkin took the oath of office. The report found the Northam administration didn’t have a plan to deal with the disaster, that state government agencies failed to talk to one another during the crisis, and that messages provided to drivers weren’t clear, WTOP-FM reports.

“…I am deeply concerned by the newly- released IG audit, which takes a very critical view of the Commonwealth’s level of preparation in advance of that early January storm, our current level of preparedness were we to face similar circumstances in the coming winter months…” Spanberger penned in her letter.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin commented on Spanberger’s questions in a statement to Potomac Local News, acknowledging the Democrat is battling Republican Yesli Vega in a November 2022 Election to keep her seat, running in a newly-redrawn political district, in a race the Cook Political Report considers to be a toss-up.

“So first of all, I know that Spanberger is in a tough race. And therefore, she’s trying to do things to demonstrate maybe a connection to her new district, she can rest assured that we have paid full attention to a very good report. But I also remind everyone that first of all, the I 95 Snow disaster in January was something that was handled by the previous administration. And in fact, when we came in, we brought a whole new philosophy to this, which is to actively be engaged and manage it. I think we managed the three storms very well, that we dealt with, it doesn’t mean we can’t learn more. And so we’re incorporating very good suggestions out of that report, we’ll be ready for the winter. I also have to recognize that acts of God are acts of God. And, and so we can prepare as much as we want. But we also have to make a lot of important decisions at the time. And so we’ll be well prepared, we’re going to be well prepared to bring the full resources of the state and local capabilities together in order to keep Virginia safe and moving.”

— Virignia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R)

In recent weeks, Democrats, under President Joseph R. Biden, have made significant advances on their progressive agenda, from passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to curb global warming, and authorizing 87,000 more IRS agents to audit citizens and businesses. Last week, President Biden also announced he would transfer a portion of student debt from the borrower to taxpayers, making it possible for borrowers to pay back less of their student loans.

The Department of Justice authorized a raid on the Florida home of former President Donald J. Trump to recover what it said were classified documents illegally possessed by the former president.

University of Mary Washington Political Professor Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth says Spanberger’s decision to talk about I-95 will appeal to Democrats and Republicans and might serve her better than talking about the actions of those currently in power in Washington, D.C.

While Biden’s poll numbers are trending upward, talking about Biden is a far less effective strategy for Rep. Spanberger to reach moderate voters than is talking about the problems of I-95,” Farnsworth told Potomac Local News.

Biden’s poll numbers ticked up to 44% this month, the highest since the pull out of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Many drivers abandoned their cars on I-95 during the January 2022 snowstorm and walked to convenience stores on Garrisonville Road in North Stafford.

“If there is one thing we need to be fixed here in Stafford, it’s traffic, and Spanberger knows it takes all levels of government to fix it,” Stafford Democratic Committee Chair Clifford Heinzer told Potomac Local News.

Spanberger has supported actions to contain climate change, voted in favor of an assault weapons ban, and supports legal abortion. As of June, Spanberger voted with Biden 100% of the time, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight. Alternatively, Spanberger voted with former President Donald Trump less than most other Democrats, only 8.7% of the time.

“It is no surprise that Congresswoman Spanberger would want to talk about anything but her own voting record,” said Prince William County Republican Committee Chairman Denny Daugherty. “The Inflation Reduction Act, which she wholeheartedly supported, will only increase inflation.”

Virginia’s 7th Congressional District now includes the eastern portion of Prince William County, Stafford and Spotsylvania counite, and Fredericksburg city.

Need to know election info: 

• First day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office: Friday, September 23, 2022
• The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration is October 17, 2022.
•  The deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you is October 28, 2022. Your local voter registration office must receive your request by 5 p.m.
• Voter registration offices open for early voting: Saturday, October 29, 2022.
• The last day of in-person early voting at your local voter registration office: is Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 5 p.m.

 

More than 200 poeple attended the opening of Yesli Vega’s campaign office in Spotsylvania County on Saturday, August 27, 2022.

Campaign staffers couldn’t keep up with the demand for yard signs to show support for Vega, a Republican who is running in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District to unseat Democrat Abigail Spanberger.

Vega stood in a pick-up truck bed, flanked by former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and State Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Fredericksburg), and remembered the 13 U.S. military service members who were killed in the pullout of Afghanistan one year ago, and called out Democratic lawmakers for keeping school buildings closed during the pandemic and its “damning” effects on children following the latest round of lousy Standards of Learning test scores.

Vega said November’s election is the most important in our lifetimes because the progressive Democrats seek to change the fundamentals of free market capitalism in the U.S. to socialism. Kristen Gonzales, a New York City Democrat, won her Primary bid for a state senate seat and declared “socialism wins.” 

“I say to her, ‘not on our watch, it’s not.’ In the middle of a civil war inspired by Fidel Castro’s love for communism, I know what it’s like… I’ve lived and walked through those shoes,” said Vega, the daughter of El Salavdroain immigrants who fled to the U.S.

The 7th District is one of a handful of congressional districts poised to flip to Republican hands in November, insiders said.

Spanberger held her seat for two terms, but before that, the seat was held by a Republican. The District also went for Youngkin in the 2021 election by an even wider 11-point margin.

Spanberger has supported actions to contain climate change, voted in favor of an assault weapons ban, and supports legal abortion. As of June, Spanberger voted with Biden 100% of the time, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight. Alternatively, Spanberger voted with former President Donald Trump less than most other Democrats, only 8.7% of the time.

There’s also the 10th District seat that includes Manassas and western Prince William County held by Democrat Jennifer Wexton, challenged by Naval Captian Hung Cao (R), a Vietnam refugee.

Refugees from the U.S. southern border are also an issue in the 7th District, as many are being bused from Texas to Washington, D.C., putting pressure on the region’s social services. “We have to make sure that we have representatives that are going to fight on behalf of the American people and enforce the laws that we have on the books…because it’s impacting everybody across the nation. Not just in D.C. Not just in Texas, but here in the 7th District as well,” said Vega.

Having set a record last year at 1.7 million illegal border crossings, the Biden administration is expected to allow more than 2.1 million people to cross the southern border illegally in 2022.

Vega’s new campaign office sits at 5438 Southpoint Plaza Way.

Cuccinelli has been an integral part of Vega’s campaign. She announced her bid for office in April. During the Vega campaign event, Cuccinelli announced he moved from his home in Prince William County to Spotsylvania County, a traditional local GOP stronghold.

“Yesli has cut her teeth and made the Democrats really scared of her. There’s nothing wrong with that. If the Washington Post is beating you up, you must be doing something right,” he said.

Voters elected Vega to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2019. Since 2020, she’s served as the first Hispanic to serve on the Board of County Supervisors, argued for conservative principles on a body controlled by Democrats, and has faced regular criticism from Hispanics who advocate for open U.S. borders for her conservative views.

The 7th Congressional District includes eastern Prince William County, Stafford County, Spotsylvania County, and Fredericksburg. Here’s a map showing all localities in the district.

Need to know election info: 

• First day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office: Friday, September 23, 2022
• The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration is October 17, 2022.
•  The deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you is October 28, 2022. Your local voter registration office must receive your request by 5 p.m.
• Voter registration offices open for early voting: Saturday, October 29, 2022.
• The last day of in-person early voting at your local voter registration office:  Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 5 p.m.

The Center Square contributed to this report. 

Yesli Vega pushed for more police officers this past spring when the Board of County Supervisors passed its largest budget in history — $3.8 billion — in April 2022.

Instead, the Democrat-controlled Board of County Supervisors provided funding to hire 15 new civilians, returning the uniformed officers working the desk jobs to the streets.

Vega, a Republican Supervisor who’s represented the Coles District since 2020, said she voted against the budget partly because it didn’t include funding for new uniformed police officers.

The decision came during a rash of shootings in the county that shows no sign of stopping. On Friday, the county marked its 10th fatal shooting victim this year when someone started unloading a gun near Manassas.

Four months after approving the budget, WUSA-TV reports Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham says the department needs at least 100 new officers. Newsham didn’t call for the officers during months of budget deliberations preceding the budget vote.

Vega is running for Congress in Virginia’s 7th District, including eastern Prince William County. Her opponent, Democrat Abigail Spanbeger, released a new ad claiming Vega doesn’t support law enforcement because she voted against the largest budget in county history, with the most significant tax increase on residents in the county’s history.

Vega is also a uniformed police officer — an auxiliary member of the Prince William County Sheriff’s Office. She must fulfill a schedule to maintain her law enforcement status, balancing it with the rigors of being a full-time mother, a member of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, and a congressional campaign.

Before coming to the Prince William County Sherriff’s Office, Vega was a cop in Manassas Park and Alexandria. She traces her interest in law enforcement to the shooting death of a family friend by a gang member.

Spanberger has been in office since 2018 and, before her constituents, was largely silent when Black Lives Matter took to the streets in our area and cities across the U.S., holding riots and calling for defunding police in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

However, multiple media outlets reported Spanberger chastised fellow Democrats on a conference call in November 2020, urging them not to say “defund the police” or push socialism if Democrats wanted to keep their seats.

In June 2020, she voiced her support for police reforms that ban no-knock warrants and chokeholds.

The Justice in Policing Act would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, create a nationwide police misconduct registry, limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to local police departments, and require state & local agencies to report use-of-force data. (4/10)

— Rep. Abigail Spanberger (@RepSpanberger) June 17, 2020

Spanberger worked in the CIA’s Clandestine Service, gathering intelligence on nuclear terrorism until 2014, when she left the agency to an appointment to a state board by then Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

In the meantime, sheriffs from multiple jurisdictions in the 7th District have rallied their support for Vega. Top cops from Prince William and Stafford counties and Fredericksburg all endorsed Vega.

“Our dedication to the safety and security of Virginia’s communities has resonated throughout the District, and the backing of our incredible sheriff is a testament to that. It’s time to put an end to the radical left’s Defund the Police agenda, and I look forward to leading that fight to defend my brothers and sisters in uniform when I’m elected this fall,” Vega states in a press release.

Need to know election info: 

• First day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office: Friday, September 23, 2022
• The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration is October 17, 2022.
•  The deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you is October 28, 2022. Your local voter registration office must receive your request by 5 p.m.
• Voter registration offices open for early voting: Saturday, October 29, 2022.
• The last day of in-person early voting at your local voter registration office:  Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 5 p.m.