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Congress

Depending on where you live, you may have one of the below congressional districts on your ballot.

  • Virginia’s 5th congressional district is the largest in the Commonwealth. It contains parts of Albemarle County, Bedford County, and Hanover County, as well as all of Lynchburg, Pittsylvania County, Campbell County, Charlottesville, Danville, Louisa County, Halifax County, Amherst County, Mecklenburg County, Powhatan County, Fluvanna County, Goochland County, Prince Edward County, Buckingham County, Nottoway County, Appomattox County, Nelson County, Amelia County, Lunenburg County, Charlotte County, and Cumberland County. The district has been reliably Republican outside of the 2008 election. Incumbent Bob Good (R), won the district in 2020 with just over 52% of the vote. 

    This election will be held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Bob Good (R), who has held the District 5 seat since 2021, will face John Throneburg (D), an ordained minister.

    Josh Throneburg (D), is an ordained minister and small business owner based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Together with his wife, they own Nooks & Crannies, an eco-friendly cleaning buisness. Prior to moving to Charlottesville, he was a minister in Massachusetts. He mentions his role as a father as a driving force behind his desire to serve. Throneburg comes from a farming family and grew up in a small town in Illinois. Dismantling systemic racism, investing in rural areas, and climate change are among his top priorities.

    If elected, Throneburg hopes to join the House Committee on Natural Resources. To address climate change, he believes individuals and corporations can be incentivized to switch to renewable energy sources. He also sees this as a way to create jobs and uplift rural communities. He includes salary matches, housing assistance, affordable healthcare, pension support, and priority job placement as part of a just transition for fossil fuel workers. Throneburg is in favor of placing taxes or fines on the country’s largest carbon emitters as a response to the economic costs associated with climate change.

    Throneburg supports abortion access and believes protections should be enshrined in federal law to prevent states from interfering with safe and accessible abortion care. He also supports policy that expands resources for families, like paid family and medical leave and Medicaid expansion to cover pregnant people through pregnancy and the first year postpartum, as well as federal adoption subsidies. He supports sustainable funding streams for community-based organizations, noting their positive affects on the maternal mortality rate for people of color. He believes private insurance companies should cover the full range of contraceptive methods at no cost to patients.

    As the father of one Black daughter and one biracial daughter, Throneburg emphasizes his commitment to racial justice and equity. One way he aims to address this is through housing justice. He favors zero- or low-interest loans for homebuyers of color to counter effects of redlining. Additionally, he calls for investing in HBCUs through direct granting programs, extending Pell Grants to HBCU students, and free community college for everyone. He also sees racial justice as a need for criminal justice reform. He wants to studythe federal decriminalization of marijuana and would push for accountability and transparency in law enforcement.

    Throneburg advocates for LGBTQ+ protections and supports the passage of the Equality Act, which would guarantee equal protection in employment, housing, credit, and education among other areas. It would also prohibit discrimination in public spaces. He also supports passing the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which deals with bullying and harassment. He wants to prohibit child welfare agencies that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. He opposes use of the “gay/trans panic” as a defense in trial. He pushes collecting data to research economic well-being of LGBTQ+ Americans.

    Throneburg is facing incumbent Bob Good (R), a former fundraiser for Liberty University and Campbell County Supervisor. Good opposes transgender bathroom policies and sanctuary cities. He was criticized for racist comments made regarding Afghan refugees. He considers himself, “unashamedly 100% pro-life,” and introduced legislation to recognize National Pregnancy Center Week. He also believes that classrooms should have cameras.

    Due to his commitment to racial and environmental justice, support for abortion access, and his stance on LGBTQ+ rights, Josh Throneburg is the more progressive candidate in this race.

  • Endorsed By: SEIU
  • The 7th congressional district spans most of Central Virginia. It includes all of Fredericksburg, Stafford County, Spotsylvania County, Culpeper County, Orange County, Caroline County, King George County, Greene County, Madison County, as well as portions of Prince Wiliam County and Albemarle County. The district went from Republican to Democrat in 2018, when Spanberger won her seat by just 2% of the vote and is considered one of the most competitive congressional districts in the Commonwealth. In the 2020 election, Spanberger won with just over 50% of the vote.

    This election will be held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D), a former operations officer with the CIA, has held the District 7 seat since 2021 and is running for re-election against Yesli Vega (R), a law enforcement officer.

    Incumbent Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D), is a former CIA case officer. She was previously a federal law enforcement officer, dealing with narcotics and money laundering cases with the US Postal Inspection Service. She prides herself on her bipartisanship and has served in Congress since 2019. Currently, she sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Agriculture Committee. She grew up in Henrico County, attended the University of Virginia, and received an MBA from the GISMA and Purdue University.

    Spanberger considers climate change a direct threat to our future. She chairs the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee on the US House Agriculture Committee. In 2019, she helped introduce the Climate Action Now Act, which would require the U.S. to remain in the Paris Climate Agreement. She introduced the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act, the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for Farmers Act, and the Healthy Soil, Resilient Farmers Act. Spanberger also pushed legislation requiring the recognition of climate change as a national threat and cosponsored legislation to require the EPA to test for lead contamination in school’s water supplies.

    As a former federal law enforcement officer, Spanberger understands first hand how injustices within the criminal justice system can endanger families. Spanberger supports criminal justice reform and advocates for policies that address addiction in jails and prisons. She is committed to pushing policies that ban no-knock warrants and chokeholds, and would like to see improved anti-bias training, increasing accountability, and limiting militarization of the police. Spanberger co-sponsored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. She prioritizes legislation that reduces mass incarceration and ends the school-to-prison pipeline.

    Additionally, Spanberger believes in the necessity of commonsense gun violence prevention. She refers to gun violence as an epidemic and a public safety issue. She cosponsored the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which would require universal background checks on all firearm purchases. She also voted in favor of the Enhanced Background Checks Act, the Protecting Our Kids Act, and the US Senate’s bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation. Spanberger is a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and cosponsored the Threat Assessment, Prevention, and Safety Act.

    Spanberger is supports bodily autonomy and considers reproductive healthcare as a social and economic necessity. She believes the overturning of Roe v. Wade will have massive consequences across the country. She supports federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other providers of essential healthcare screenings and preventative services for all. Spanberger is a member of the Black Maternal Health Caucus and worked with other members of the caucus to introduce the “Momnibus Bill” to address the nation’s crisis in Black maternal mortality. She voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act.

    Yesli Vega (R), is a military wife and law enforcement officer. She has spoken out against abortion access and has stated she will support a law to “protect innocent life from conception.” She also stands against gay marriage. Additionally, she supports stricter imigration policies and stronger gun rights.

    Due to her commitments to reproductive freedom and rights, racial justice, and gun violence prevention, Incumbent Abigail Spanberger is the more progressive candidate in this race.