By Mark Hand

Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger made a stop in the Lynchburg area on Sunday in her campaign for governor, appearing in Bedford to talk about her six years in Congress and take questions from the community.

Spanberger, a Democrat who represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District for three terms, announced in November 2023 that she would not run for a fourth term and would instead seek to succeed Glenn Youngkin as governor.

When asked by an attendee at the event, held at the Bower Center for the Arts, how she plans to campaign in Republican strongholds such as Bedford County, Spanberger reminded the audience that when she won her congressional seat in 2018, it was the first time a Democrat had been elected to represent the 7th Congressional District since 1968. She beat Republican Dave Brat, who had won his previous election for the seat in 2016 by more than 15 percentage points.

On the campaign trail, Spanberger emphasized she will make sure to speak with people of all political persuasions.

“It’s incumbent upon me that I make myself, my team, or anyone acting on my behalf accessible,” she said. “If I think that the policies that I have advocated for or will advocate for are good, then I should be able to speak to that and justify that to anyone.”

Spanberger’s appearance in Bedford came about two weeks after Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares made a stop in the county to offer their vision for continuing the Republican Party’s momentum into this year’s statewide elections. Earle-Sears is hoping to receive the Republican nomination for governor and Miyares is running for re-election as attorney general.

In her stop in Bedford on Sunday, Spanberger emphasized she will be back in the area often in 2025 while campaigning for governor. After her third House term ended in December, Spanberger said she will have time to travel across Virginia, including the central and southwest regions, to make sure she gets a pulse of what issues people feel are important, and that people across the state feel heard.

Spanberger, who was born in New Jersey, but grew up in Henrico County near Richmond, started her career as a federal law enforcement officer more than 20 years ago with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. In 2006, she joined the CIA as a case officer where she worked until 2014. After leaving the CIA, she worked for an education consulting firm before deciding to run for Congress in 2018.

Spanberger is married, with three children — ages 16, 13 and 10 — who attend public schools in Virginia.

At the event in Bedford in a room filled with about 80 people, Spanberger talked about her time in Congress, explaining she helped pass laws that lowered the cost of prescription drugs, particularly for seniors on Medicare, because she listened to her constituents who were asking for relief on the cost of prescriptions.

She also worked on the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by former President Joe Biden in November 2021, “because I had challenges in my rural communities with broadband connectivity, and in my more suburban communities with electrical grid infrastructure.”

Spanberger also highlighted her work in Congress to expand health care access to veterans “who had faced toxic exposures, because I represented thousands of individuals who had worked in service to our country and took great risks, and we owed that to them.”

During the campaign stop, Spanberger appeared to intentionally steer clear of criticizing Youngkin, or making negative comments about other Republicans in Richmond. She focused on the details of her plans if elected governor, including investing in public schools and lowering the cost of everyday items for Virginians.

“I am running for governor because I want to face these challenges head on,” she said. “Across Virginia, I hear about the issue of affordability, whether it’s at the pharmacy counter, the grocery store checkout line, or when somebody’s looking for a new place to live or wants to move by a home.”

The closest Spanberger came to attacking Republicans was when she was asked a question about incoming President Donald Trump’s plans to move large numbers of federal workers out the Washington, D.C., area, many of whom live in Virginia.

The Republican Governors Association sent a letter on Jan. 10, signed by Youngkin and 25 other Republican governors, throwing their support behind Trump’s proposal to slash the federal workforce, moving employees and agencies outside of the Washington area, including the Northern Virginia suburbs that depend on them economically.

Spanberger questioned why Youngkin would support a plan that would hurt Virginia’s economy by moving jobs out of the state and eliminating positions in the federal government.

“The impact of potentially pulling away that workforce is substantial, and it’s harmful to Virginia,” she said. “And so any governor of Virginia should recognize brass tacks that is bad for our economy, in addition to what it means for the individual Virginians who will be impacted.”

After the visit to Bedford on Sunday morning, Spanberger was scheduled to visit Martinsville and then Danville.

Spanberger is the only declared Democratic candidate for governor, but U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd District, said in December that he has not ruled out jumping into the race. She has won endorsements from a long list of current and former elected Democrats in the state.

Among the most prominent names currently missing from the list are U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-4th District, and state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-District 18, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

Looking ahead, as the gubernatorial campaign heats up, Spanberger acknowledged it is going to be a tough race but also an exciting one.

“I’ve only ever run tough races, so this is within my comfort zone,” she said.