HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Prominently displayed on the wall of 39-year-old Congresswoman-elect Abigail Spanberger's campaign headquarters are a selection of paintings.
"We've got wineries in Orange, Lake Anna in Spotsylvania," Spanberger said.
The paintings are there to remind volunteers of the diversity of the 7th Congressional District, and even though she will soon head to Washington, she said she won't forget that.
"The mandate from a district like ours is to work across the aisle, and is to recognize that as more of a 50-50 district or toss up district, we are representative of the larger country," Spanberger said.
These paintings line the wall of Abigail Spanberger's campaign headquarters.
Spanberger won the more populated counties like Henrico and Chesterfield, but the more rural areas, although she made inroads in many of them: flipping 5 precincts in Culpeper, and 7 in Spotsylvania, overall, they all went for her Republican opponent Dave Brat.
Abigail Spanberger's data expert gave Melissa Hipolit an inside look at how her campaign managed to win.
She pointed out that they flipped 18 precincts in Chesterfield, including Brandermill.
Among the precincts she lost is Cosby, which Brat won by one vote.
Brat won Chestefield by 17 percent in 2016.
Spanberger said her top three priorities are:
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Reducing Prescription Drug Prices
- Infrastructure Improvements
Abigail Spanberger Democratic candidate for Virginia’s Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives, celebrates with members of her campaign staff after hearing that her race had been called in her favor November 6, 2018 in Richmond, Virginia. Spanberger, a former CIA officer, declared victory over Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) in their race for a seat that has been under Republican control since 1968. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
As for talk of Nancy Pelosi possibly becoming the Speaker of the House?
"So, I won't support her for Speaker of the House," Spanberger said. "I think it's important we have new leadership leading a new conversation really committed to having an effective Congress that is working to solve problems."
And will she join some Democrats who want to investigate President Donald Trump?
"I think it has to be a measured approach. If there is evidence of wrongdoing that should be looked at. "I support the rule of law. I am a former investigator myself, but I think that anything that is more punitive or partisan, I would like to see Congress steer away from and focus on what is important to voters."
They're issues that she said she hopes her constituents realize are important to her too as a 39 -year-old working mom.
"I hope that people see that I am a real person and one of the many facets of who I am is that I am a mother with three lovely daughters," Spanberger said.
