Virginia
Two Virginia women who came to Congress on a mission prepare to leave at a critical moment – WTOP News
Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton roared into Washington six years ago as part of a record wave of women vying for House seats. Of the 35 Democratic women first elected in 2018, Spanberger and Wexton are among 14 who have since left or will be leaving Congress by next year.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton roared into Washington six years ago as part of a record wave of women vying for House seats, many on a mission to push back against the politics of Donald Trump.
“We were part of that 2018 class, and we sort of ran in there like: ‘There’s a fire. We’re here,’” Spanberger said.
The outgoing congresswoman, who along with Wexton recently reflected on their time in Congress in interviews with The Associated Press, drew a quick breath.
“It’s slightly different than the tone of where things are right now,” she said.
That is an understatement. Trump, a president the two Virginia Democrats campaigned against as they unseated established incumbent Republicans, is about to embark on a second term after mounting an improbable political comeback. Of the 35 Democratic women first elected in 2018, Spanberger and Wexton are among 14 who have since left or will be leaving Congress by next year.
That’s not to say their journey is over or that they are retreating from public discourse.
Kelly Dittmar, research director at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, described Virginia as a canary in a coal mine when voters elected more women to the statehouse in 2017, followed by the election of Spanberger, Wexton and former Rep. Elaine Luria there in 2018. But Dittmar said progress toward better gender representation hasn’t always been linear.
Last month, 21 of the original 35 female Democrats first elected in 2018 ran for reelection to their House seats, not including Rep. Elissa Slotkin, elected to the Senate by Michigan voters this year. And in those races, 20 won. They’ll be among the 150 women — 110 Democrats and 40 Republicans — serving in the 119th Congress next year, one woman shy of a record of 151 set in 2023.
Spanberger, meanwhile, is running for governor in a race comprised solely of two female candidates, making it likely that Virginia’s next governor will be a woman for the first time.
But when women leave elected office, Dittmar said, their absence is felt more acutely because there is less female representation to begin with. She said it’s unclear whether the U.S. will see another surge of women filing to run anytime soon.
She looked into why women said they ran in 2018 and “yes, there is evidence that they talked about Donald Trump,” Dittmar said. “I think the difference between ’16 and ’24 — and that we just can’t know yet — is the degree of exhaustion and the degree of toxicity that may go into a calculation about deciding whether or not to run for office.”
For both Spanberger and Wexton, that path has taken unexpected turns.
After twice winning reelection, Wexton was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a life-threatening neurological disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease, and made the difficult decision to retire. Spanberger is exchanging her congressional pin for a loftier goal in state politics. They will be succeeded in Congress by Democrats Eugene Vindman and Suhas Subramanyam, cutting Virginia’s female congressional representation from four to two.
A bond forged in public service and friendship
In the stately formality of a congressional conference room, Spanberger and Wexton reminisced on their time on Capitol Hill. They have become uncommonly close, bound by time spent together, some shared views on public policy and a friendship that has managed to transcend the ups and downs of Washington politics. A stream of text messages that began after their victory speeches in 2018 has continued ever since.
Their bids for Congress were backed by many women who marched, phone-banked and organized in a grass-roots movement that decried Trump and worked to elect female Democrats.
They won the votes. They took an oath. And then, the women got to work.
Wexton, previously a state senator and prosecutor, developed a reputation for taking care of her district, said Rosalyn Cooperman, a professor at the University of Mary Washington. Cooperman said she vied for funding opportunities and committee assignments that helped bring tens of millions of dollars in federal investments to northern Virginia. She also tackled opioid addiction, transgender rights and childhood cancer research. After announcing her diagnosis, Wexton co-sponsored the National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act, which President Joe Biden signed in July. Lawmakers named the legislation in her honor.
Spanberger, an ex-CIA operative who stopped working at an education company to run for Congress, cultivated a knack for tackling lower-profile issues: bringing broadband to rural areas, fighting drug trafficking and veterans’ issues. The Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School ranked the Virginia Democrat as the 17th most bipartisan member of the House last year.
“Both women really understood the districts that they represented and what the districts needed, and went about the work very effectively and without too much fanfare,” Cooperman said.
Spanberger and Wexton became fast friends while first campaigning for their House seats in 2018. The two formed a trio with Luria, who left Congress after losing to Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans in 2022. Spanberger described Wexton as her quick-witted big sister — someone who gave her advice on everything from raising teenagers to navigating a legislature. At one point, Wexton wrote Spanberger a script for speaking on the House floor.
Wexton, with the help of an artificial intelligence program, spoke of Spanberger supporting her in a more vulnerable way: styling Wexton’s hair as she showed up to Congress with her health struggles.
“That is no small feat — I had experienced first-hand how hard it was becoming to do my hair,” Wexton said. “For the next almost 90 minutes, Abigail would put various potions in my hair and dry it with a round brush.
“It was wonderful. I felt so pampered.”
Spanberger, with tears welling in her eyes, laughed, “You have so much hair!”
Wexton learned she had progressive supranuclear palsy in 2023. Within the last two years, she lost her ability to speak clearly and walk without assistance. In her interview, the congresswoman used her pointer finger to type thoughts on her tablet, which she then played aloud. In her final months in Congress, she said, well-meaning colleagues would talk to her like a child or reintroduce themselves to her.
“My PSP has robbed me of my voice, and others may take that to mean it has robbed me of my cognitive ability as well,” she said. “But that’s not true. I’m just as much me as I’ve always been.”
As the current term ends, many women are coming to terms with Trump’s ascent back to power. Many Democrats say the fight isn’t over but has changed in unexpected ways.
“To be very clear, I’m super excited that Eugene Vindman and Suhas Subramanyam are replacing us,” Spanberger said. “But it is a little bit bittersweet that we came in with this group of three women, and within three terms, we’re both — that all three of us are no longer there.”
Wexton said she hoped people, and women specifically, would persevere.
“We’re not going to win every battle or every election,” she said, “but it is true that our democracy works best when more people participate in it.”
___
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.
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© 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
Virginia Tech’s ACC Tournament run ended in heartbreaking fashion Tuesday night in Charlotte, as the Hokies fell to Wake Forest 95-89 in overtime. It was a game full of swings. Virginia Tech erased deficits, battled back repeatedly and forced overtime, but couldn’t make enough plays in the extra period.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the game.
The Good: Rebounding dominance and a resilient fight
Virginia Tech did plenty of things well in this game, especially on the boards.
The Hokies outrebounded Wake Forest 45-28, including 21 offensive rebounds, which created 20 second-chance points and repeatedly extended possessions. That advantage helped Virginia Tech stay within striking distance even when the offense stalled.
Head coach Mike Young pointed to the rebounding margin as one of the more frustrating parts of the loss.
“You outrebound somebody 45 to 26 or whatever that is,” Young said. “You’re supposed to win the game. Unfortunately, we did not.”
Several Hokies contributed to that effort. Forward Tobi Lawal led the team with nine rebounds. Centers Christian Gurdak and Antonio Dorn combined for 15 rebounds, with Dorn seeing extended minutes after Amani Hansberry was sidelined with an injury he suffered against Virginia.
Virginia Tech showed its usual resilience. The Hokies erased multiple deficits throughout the game and were able to force overtime in a game where Wake Forest led for almost 36 minutes.
Young praised the fight his team showed throughout the night.
“It’s been a characteristic of this team throughout,” said Young. “They’ve got a lot to them, and great kids to coach.”
The Bad: A quiet night for Neoklis Avdalas
Virginia Tech needed contributions across the lineup in a tight postseason game, but Neoklis Avdalas struggled to make an impact.
Avdalas finished with five points, shooting 2-for-8 from the field. The Hokies’ assist leader was unable to record an assist against the Demon Deacons. He played 31 minutes before spending the final 7:37 of the second half and all of overtime on the bench.
Young confirmed the decision was performance-based.
“I just thought [Jaden Schutt and Jailen Bedford] were playing better than Neo, so that is how it went,” said Young.
Schutt played his most minutes in a game (29) since late January. He shot 3-for-7 from three and made all six of his free throws, ending the night with 15 points.
This game stands in stark contrast to Avdalas’ previous showing against Wake Forest. In that game from Feb. 21, Avdalas scored 17 points, shooting 6-for-14 from the field. He also recorded eight assists and three rebounds that game.
The Ugly: Turnovers early and execution in overtime
THe biggest issue for Virginia Tech came in two stretches: the early turnovers and in overtime.
The Hokies committed 10 turnovers in the first half, allowing Wake Forest to control the pace despite Virginia Tech’s 25-11 first-half rebounding advantage. Off those 10 first-half turnovers, Wake Forest scored 11 points.
“We had some terrible, terrible turnovers,” said Young.
Although Virginia Tech cleaned that up in the second half, only committing three turnovers for the remainder of the game, the early miscues forced the Hokies to play from behind most of the night.
After battling abck all night, overtime is where the Hokies ran out of answers.
Wake Forest quickly seized momentum in the extra period. Guard Myles Colvin gave the Demon Deacons a five-point advantage less than a minute into overtime, making a floater and a three.
The Hokies struggled to generate offense in overtime while Wake Forest capitalized repeatedly at the free-throw line. When Virginia Tech was forced to foul down late, Wake Forest did not allow any chance of a comeback, making all nine of its free throws in overtime.
“They were hitting shots,” Ben Hammond said. “Their point guard had the game of his life today.”
In the end, Wake Forest made the plays Virginia Tech could not.
Virginia
Virginia lawmakers criticize anti-redistricting mailer with Jim Crow-era images – WTOP News
The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort and feature pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones condemned flyers with Jim Crow-era images discouraging voters from supporting redistricting in the state.
The mailers, which Jones told WTOP he first learned about last weekend, featured pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement. One such mailer said, “Our ancestors fought to represent us. Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away.”
The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort.
A group, Justice for Democracy, has been sending out mailers and texts with some clear dog whistles, using varying disclaimers in Virginia (“Democracy and Justice PAC” and “Justice for Democracy PAC”).
Its treasurer is listed as Christopher Woodfin and its address is the same … pic.twitter.com/JvetyKGnbw
— Matt Royer (@royermattw) March 7, 2026
Early voting is underway, as Democrats in the state push for changes to congressional districts that are expected to give them more of an advantage in Congress. They said it’s in response to President Donald Trump encouraging redistricting in Republican-led states such as Texas. Republicans, though, have been critical.
In an interview with WTOP, Jones, Virginia’s first Black attorney general, said the mailers are disturbing, shocking, offensive and deceptive.
“It’s very clear a MAGA-linked group that opposes the referendum is sending these mailers to Black voters, and they’re misusing very, very hurtful imagery from the Civil Rights Movement, even invoking Jim Crow, to weaponize one of the darkest chapters in our history, to scare people into voting no and help Republicans maintain a rigged map for 2026 so they can keep control of Congress,” Jones said.
In a statement, the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the flyers falsely compare redistricting to Jim Crow.
“While the NAACP is nonpartisan, we are deeply engaged in political advocacy to safeguard our communities,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of NAACP Virginia.
The purpose of the mailers, Jones said, is to “suppress the vote. It’s to make sure that people don’t go make their voices heard during this election.”
The flyers said they’re paid for by a group called Democracy and Justice PAC. Former Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza, a Republican, is listed as the chairman, according to Virginia Board of Elections documents.
“I couldn’t see why they say it’s insulting,” Cordoza told WTOP. “I’m a Black man. I don’t want my Black vote to be taken away.”
The proposed new map, Cordoza said, “ripped apart majority-minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from Northern Virginia.”
Cordoza said he didn’t know how many homes the mailers had been sent to or how much the PAC spent on them.
“I want people to do their research and see exactly what’s happening,” Cordoza said. “We, as Virginians, voted for a bipartisan redistricting commission for a reason.”
Jones, though, said he sits “across the dinner table from people who have had their right to vote denied because of the color of their skin. It’s 2026. I would hope that we’d be past tactics like this, but clearly we aren’t.”
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RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger met with public safety leaders from across the commonwealth Monday as part of a “unified readiness” coordination effort.
The governor met with police and fire chiefs, sheriffs, emergency managers and private sector members — including Dominion Energy — to discuss Virginia’s commitment to public safety, intelligence sharing and interagency collaboration.
“As global tensions continue to evolve, I want to be very clear: there are no known threats specific to Virginia at this time,” Spanberger said. “Today’s briefing was about making sure that information can be shared quickly and we remain at the ready.”
The meeting relates to Spanberger’s Executive Order 12, which she says reaffirms Virginia’s commitment to public safety, community trust, and readiness.
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