Midterms Reveal Virginia still Divided

This should come as no surprise to anyone, but last night’s midterm election results confirm that Virginia is still a narrowly divided state.

All incumbents returned to Congress, except for Rep. Elaine Luria (D – 2nd CD) who lost to Republican State Senator Jen Kiggans. After redistricting, all attention turned to both Congressional District (CD) 2 and 7 as the likeliest races for a party flip. At The Family Foundation Action, we immediately focused on the 7th CD, believing this race would be won or lost by a razor-thin margin. While we were disappointed that incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) will return to Congress and keep voting with President Biden as a pro-abortion, anti-religious freedom member, we cannot say we didn’t give it all we had.

Throughout the past year, our team made 131,671 voter contacts between the doors we knocked and the calls we made. While we came up short of our financial resource goal, we did what we could to restore conservative representation to this seat. The reality is that any district containing part of northern Virginia will remain extremely difficult for any pro-life candidate to win in the near future.

Speaking of life, we were saddened to learn that the five abortion-related initiatives on the ballot in other states all came down on the pro-abortion side. Despite what the media will say, America is not a permanently pro-abortion county – there are millions of pro-life advocates, even in the most liberal states. The Dobbs decision was indeed historic, opening the door to state policies that could help save the life of the unborn in a nation where abortion-on-demand used to be the law of the land for fifty years. Change does not happen overnight, though. We are grappling with the sad reality that several generations have accepted the Roe regime and the lies fed to them by the abortion industry.

For many in this country, imagining a pro-life America and voting for it will take some time. The battle for human life has always been a marathon, not a sprint, and Dobbs did not change that. Much like nationwide prejudices did not shift overnight after Brown v. Board of Education, it will take time for people’s hearts and minds to change about the need to respect unborn human life. 

Not all the news last night was bad. Parental authority and school accountability continue to be critical issues for Virginia families. The Virginia Beach and Isle of Wight school boards both flipped from liberal to conservative majorities; Chesapeake strengthened its conservative majority; and even Suffolk and Loudoun Counties added conservative members to their boards.

We have no illusions that any gains we make in Virginia for parental authority, religious freedom, and the sanctity of life in the coming year will be anything but hard-earned victories. Nevertheless, we are ready to meet any challenges that face us with resolve and an unwavering commitment to our values. We will continue to grow our grassroots networks, engage our church communities, strengthen our law center, and work with coalition allies and legislators to build on the victories in 2022, make gains in 2023, and set Virginia families up for a hopeful 2024.

Please continue to pray with us for the future of our state and our country.