Check out the website: https://lenspoliticalnotes.com Look at the recent Political Notes and Len’s Letters on the website. Len’s Letter #45 US Senate Candidates to donate to now. Len’s Letter #46 US House Candidates to donate to now. Len’s Letter #47 Fifteen December Redistricting Candidates to Consider, Political Note #388 Elaine Luria VA 02, Political Note #378 Elissa Slotkin MI 08 (now MI 07), Political Note #363 Tom Malinowski NJ 07, Political Note #107 Greg Stanton AZ 09 (now AZ 04), Political Note #438 Abigail Spanberger VA 07, Political Note #142 Katie Porter CA 45 (now CA 47), Political Note #389 Tom O’Halleran AZ 01 (Now AZ 02), Political Note #423 NM 02, Political Note #405 Jay Chen CA 39 (now CA 40)
January 13th 2022 Political Note #438
2022 Abigail Spanberger VA 07
There are a lot of dirty tricks in elections. In 2018, Abigail Spanberger was subject to one. Before joining the CIA, she had worked as a postal inspector. Trump, you’ll remember, was still President of the United States. Louis de Joy had not yet become Postmaster General. And maybe this trick had nothing to do with who was president when Republicans got Abigail Spanberger’s employment records.
The Postal Service provided Abigail Spanberger’s social security number, her medical history, her employment history, her security clearance information to America Rising, a Republican allied research group. The Post Office insisted that a clerk had made a mistake releasing the records, but never released the name of the clerk. They said they made the same mistake with three other people. They didn’t release the name of the clerk involved in those mistakes or the names of the three other people. Here’s one mistake they didn’t make. Doing self oppo research, Abigail Spanberger’s campaign asked for those same records. They never got records. That wasn’t a mistake and, I don’t believe, the release of Abigail Spanberger’s records was a mistake either.
America Rising gave the material to a Super PAC friendly with then House Speaker Paul Ryan. The Republicans found what they thought they were looking for – something embarrassing. Abigail Spanberger had taught, briefly, in the International Baccalaureate program at the Islamic Saudi Academy. Funded by the Saudi Embassy, the school was replaced in 2016 by the King Abdullah Academy. The old school had been accused of promoting religious intolerance, an accusation that probably had merit. The Republicans tied Abigail Spanberger to the religious intolerance and the religious intolerance to terrorism.
The CIA never thought Abigail Spanberger had ties to terrorism. They hired her in 2006. She worked as an operations officer overseas gathering information for them on, among other things, terrorism. She left the CIA to work for the Education Advisory Board — EAB. For them, she helped universities increase diversity in their student body.
When Abigail Spanberger ran for Congress, the Republican attacks were ineffective. She made the incumbent seem sleazy for the claims against her and for obtaining the information. By now the information is so innocuous her work for the Islamic Saudi Academy shows up the Wickipedia article about her.
If you consider the divide in the Democratic party between moderates and progressives, Abigail Spanberger is among the moderates. In a leaked phone call with a progressive colleague Ayanna Pressley after the Democratic losses in the 2020 election, she argued that rhetoric about defunding the police and democratic socialism frightened moderate voters. Abigail Spanberger argues for the importance of deal making with Republicans. The year before, when Trump was still President, she had been attacked by progressives for supporting emergency funds for migrants at the border. Those who attacked her claimed she was supporting child abuse and a racist system. To her mind, she was putting food in the mouths of children.
Now that there is a Democratic President making proposals, there is precious little opportunity for compromise with Republicans. In the House, moderate and progressive Democrats negotiated over the roads and bridges and internet bill (infrastructure) along with a very few Republicans who joined in. No Republicans joined in the conversation about the climate crisis, children, and families bill (BBB or budget reconciliation).
On the whole, our problem is with the Republicans, not with moderate Democrats. Though there are one or two Democratic Congressmen who oppose women’s control of their own health needs and two Senators giving Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer fits. On most issues, Abigail Spanbarger is with her colleagues. She sees climate change as a threat to our way of life and, except for items she saw as extraneous, praised the Green New Deal. She supports an assault weapons ban and expansion of background checks, a public option for the Affordable Care Act, reducing the price of medications, and was a relatively early proponent of the impeachment of Donald Trump.
This district is different from when Abigail Spanberger was first elected. She overcame an R+5 when the district was a straight north-south line west of Richmond. VA 07 is now entirely north of Richmond, even reaching Virginia’s northern border and leaning D+2. Six Republicans have lined up to be the one to taker her on. Abigail Spanberger is prepared to take on whoever wins. At the end of September, she had $2.4 million available to spend on her campaign. We won’t know who the Republican money frontrunners are for a few weeks as we begin to see which of her potential opponents have raised enough to be serious opponent.
If we are to maintain a majority in the House of Representatives, we need Members of Congress like Abigail Spanberger. Donate to her. Help her win reelection. Help us win the election.
Vulnerable incumbent Democrats and Dems defending Open Democratic Seats. (More will be added to this list)
Southeast
Georgia 02 Sanford Bishop https://sanfordbishop.com His district has been made a little less Democrat with a D+4 lean
North Carolina 11 Kathy Manning https://kathymanningfornc.com She has been placed in a district with a Republican incumbent and a R+16 lean
Virginia 02 Elaine Luria https://elaineforcongress.com Received 51.6% of the vote in 2020
Virginia 07 Political Note #438 Abigail Spanberger VA 07. She is in a slightly better position than in 2020. The district has a narrow D+2 lean in her favor now. Previously the district had an R+5 lean.
Elsewhere in the US
Arizona 02 Tom O’Halleran https://www.tomohalleran.com Received 51.61% of the vote in 2020. He has been moved from a district with an R+8 lean to one with an R+15 lean
Arizona 04 Greg Stanton https://www.stantonforarizona.com was elected by 22 points. His new district has a D+1 lean.
California 47 Katie Porter https://katieporter.com has moved to a district with a D+6 lean
California 49 Mike Levin https://www.mikelevin.org has a district which has become a little less Democratic with a lean of D+5
Iowa 03 Cynthia Axne https://cindyaxneforcongress.com Received 48.9% of the vote in 2020
Illinois 14 Lauren Underwood https://underwoodforcongress.com Received 50.67% of the vote in 2020
Kansas 03 Sharice Davids https://shariceforcongress.com/ A ten point victor, but facing redistricting for 2022
Maine 02 Jared Golden https://jaredgoldenforcongress.com His district has a R+10 lean
Michigan 07 Elissa Slotkin https://elissaforcongress.com Received 50.88% of the vote in 2020
Michigan 08 Dan Kildee has been shifted to a new district with an R+1 lean
Michigan 11 Haley Stevens https://haleystevensforcongress.com Received 50.2% of the vote in 2020
Minnesota 02 Angie Craig https://angiecraig.com Received 48.21% of the vote in 2020
Ohio 09 Marcy Kaptur https://marcykaptur.com Redistricting gives her district a +8 Republican lean.
Nevada 01 Dina Titus https://www.dinatitus.co Her district has been changed from a D+22 lean to D+4
Nevada 03 Susie Lee https://www.susieleeforcongress.com Received 48.75% of the vote in 2020
Nevada 04 Steve Horsford https://www.stevenhorsford.com Received 50.67% of the vote in 2020
New Hampshire 01 Chris Pappas https://www.chrispappas.org Republicans are seeking to create a district for him with an R+10 lean.
New Jersey 07 Tom Malinowski https://malinowskifornj.com Received 50.61% of the vote in 2020
New Mexico 03. Teresa Leger Fernandez https://www.teresaforall.com has had new Republican counties added to her district changing the lean from D+14 to D+5
Texas 07 Lizzie Fletcher https://www.lizziefletcher.com Received 50.79% of the vote in 2020 (Redistricting makes this seat safer for her)
Texas TX 15 Vicente Gonzalez http://www.vicentegonzalez.com Received 50.5% of the vote in 2020 (He is now running in the safe Democratic TX 34)
Texas 32 Colin Allred https://www.colinallred.com Received 51.95% of the vote in 2020 (Redistricting makes this seat safer for him
Washington 08 Kim Schrier https://www.drkimschrier.com Received 51.79% of the vote in 2020
Wisconsin 03 Brad Pfaff https://bradpfaff.com Candidate to replace retiring Ron Kind
Support Democrats. Republicans have abandoned democracy.
