Abigail Spanberger wins 7th District

Varsha Vasudevan, Staff Writer

Democratic incumbent Abigail Spanberger won the House of Representatives election of the 7th Congressional District on Tuesday. 

Spanberger maintained her seat with 51.93% of votes, while her Republican challenger Yesli Vega received 48.07%, according to the Virginia Public Access Project website. 

“I stand before you this evening with a deep and abiding love for this country and a profound sense of responsibility,” Spanberger said in her victory speech. “Thank you and I look forward to serving you all again these two years.”

Spanberger declared victory before all precinct reports and before the Associated Press called the election in her favor.

Spanberger was a former U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officer, who in 2018 became the first elected Democratic representative of the 7th District since 1968, according to her website. 

Spanberger helped introduce the Student Loan Disclosure Transparency Act and legislation that allowed Head Start programs to receive federal work study aid, according to her website. The Student Loan Disclosure Transparency Act of 2021 requires federal loan lenders to disclose information monthly about interest rates and the estimated owed balance, according to Congress.

Spanberger’s platform includes advocating for strengthening national security and lowering costs for healthcare and consumer goods. She voted in favor of legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, which required proof of job-related reasons for pay disparities, according to her website. 

As a parent with children attending public schools in Virginia and a 2001 graduate from the University of Virginia herself, Spanberger is passionate about “strengthening” the public education system, her website stated. 

Spanberger raised a total of $8.4 million for this election as of Oct. 19, according to VPAP. 

Spanberger’s challenger, Vega, is the “embodiment of the American Dream” as the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants and is passionate about honoring law enforcement and “conservative principles,” according to her website.

Vega’s platform focused on funding law enforcement, advocacy for a free-market driven economy through a “constitutionally limited government” and election reform by requiring photo IDs to be able to vote, according to her website. 

Vega raised $2.9 million for the election as of Oct. 18, according to VPAP. 

Senior homeland security and emergency preparedness major Jorion Tinsley said he is registered to vote in Richmond, but does not plan on voting because he distrusts most politicians.

“I kind of feel like they’re all dishonest and kind of self-serving,” Tinsley said. “That’s why they’re running for office. Just to advance their own name.” 

Tinsley said he does not feel as though he has enough power as a citizen to make a change in the government system through voting. 

“Sometimes I feel like it’s just one vote; it gets lost in the shuffle,” Tinsely said. “I’ve never thought that my vote really made a difference.”