An effort by Democrats to win over traditionally Republican voters in suburban areas paid off in Virgina, as former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger defeated Tea Party darling David Brat to to secure a major victory for Democrats.
With 99 percent of the vote accounted for, Spanberger led by nearly 4,500 votes, with 50.1 percent to Brat’s 48.7 percent.
Brat, formerly an economics professor at Virginia’s Randolph-Macon College, shot to prominence with a primary victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014. Brat is also a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He cruised to victory in 2016 by 15 points, but this year was locked in a virtual tie with Spanberger in major polls leading up to Election Day.
Brat supported President Donald Trump enthusiastically, siding with him on issues such as immigration and the FBI’s investigation into Russian influence efforts in the 2016 election. Throughout the campaign, his talking points often sought to paint Spanberger as a tool of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. (In one debate, Brat mentioned the California Democrat more than 20 times.)
Spanberger, for her part, has ruled out supporting Pelosi. “I won’t vote for her under any circumstances,” she said, according to Roll Call’s Lindsey McPherson, adding that she wouldn’t abstain from a vote to avoid the question. “That means I will vote for someone else that is not Nancy Pelosi.”
The Democrat will be the first woman to represent the district. While a supporter of the Affordable Care Act and immigration reform measures such as a bipartisan bill introduced by Texas Republican Will Hurd, Spanberger campaigned as a moderate compared to other Democrats, and she frequently touted her experience in law enforcement.
This district has been viewed as a bellwether race in determining whether Democrats could win a key demographic in the party’s path to winning the House.
