WASHINGTON — A key group of House Democrats in swing seats elected Rep. Abigail Spanberger (Va.) on Tuesday to serve as the first dedicated representative to House Democratic leadership of members in contested “battleground” districts.
The bloc of 53 incumbents in “Frontline” seats and new members who either flipped GOP-held seats or won close general election fights picked Spanberger, a former CIA officer and moderate from the Richmond suburbs, for the House Democratic Caucus spot. She defeated Rep. Matt Cartwright, a progressive personal injury lawyer from northeast Pennsylvania, by a 33-20 margin.
Her victory is a win for cautious swing-seat members who believe she would more effectively represent their concerns about third-rail policy stances and messaging to leadership.
Spanberger, a member of the centrist Blue Dog and New Democrat coalitions, emphasized her successful reelection bid in the most expensive general election in the House in the 2022 election cycle.
“With my district, I was the first Democrat elected since 1968. I didn’t take over a Democratic seat,” Spanberger told HuffPost on Monday.
Cartwright, by contrast, won his first race in a new seat in 2012, but the region that became part of his seat had been under Democratic control at the time.
“You’ve got a community that’s been voting for Republicans for 50 years. I come in talking about the things that matter to me and our Democratic colleagues,” Spanberger added. “That is an experience that is frankly shared by so many of our colleagues who have flipped seats and held on to them.”
Spanberger, who flipped a GOP-held seat in 2018, also benefited from her relationships with many of the newer members in swing seats.
Rep. Andy Kim (N.J.), a former State Department adviser in Afghanistan elected alongside Spanberger in 2018, cited his relationship with Spanberger and shared experience performing national service.
“We came up through this effort together and we’ve known each other since we both first started running. I have a real strong belief that that service mentality, that kind of approach is something that is incredibly powerful in these tough districts and is something I respect immensely.”
Rep. Pat Ryan (N.Y.), a former Army intelligence officer, who got to know Spanberger during an unsuccessful run for Congress in 2018, named a similar reason.
“It’s a personal relationship,” said Ryan, who won a special election in a Hudson Valley swing seat in August, and went on to become the only New York Democrat in a swing seat to survive in November. “We kind of came up in that group of 2018 national security vets.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
