The news cycle has been dominated by the ensuing Democratic disarray following the fall out of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) indicating he will not vote for Build Back Better, effectively killing the bill, at least for now. Democrats from both chambers have attacked Manchin, including Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a vulnerable Democrat in Virginia's 7th district. As Spangerber noted in a Sunday statement that in "the weeks and months ahead, I will keep working to deliver these meaningful investments to the people of Virginia," one of Spanberger's Republican challengers, Tina Ramirez, has called on Spanberger to take part in "a town hall style debate."
In a press release that Townhall was given an exclusive first look at, Ramirez not only called on Spanberger to debate her, but called the congresswoman out for going after Manchin.
She also laid out her concerns with the reconciliation spending bill.
"Spanberger cannot claim to care about her constituents and about fiscal responsibility while simultaneously carrying water for Joe Biden and the Squad by pushing for this radical spending bill that will make it harder on working Americans to get by," said Ramirez.
"As a working mom in the suburbs and as a businesswoman, I understand the terrible economics of this bill. It is obvious that this will be just another in the long line of economic failures we've seen from Spanberger and her allies. I am challenging her to stand up in front of her constituents and debate me on this terrible legislation. If she believes the nonsense she is pushing about this bill, she should have no problem standing up and defending it. If she ignores any challenge, she will be admitting to her constituents that she is just pushing the lies of her party and special interests," she continued.
Spanberger is facing numerous Republican challengers, should she indeed run for re-election. The district is potentially being redrawn. As Michael Martz reported for the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Monday, "Spanberger privately says she's prepared to run in new Northern Virginia 7th District if map holds."
As I covered in July, after first speaking with Ramirez about her candidacy, Spanberger has taken particular note of Ramirez's candidacy, having fundraised off of Ramirez announcing her campaign.
The redrawn district may be more favorable to Spanberger should she be the nominee, who otherwise is a particularly vulnerable Democratic incumbent and so-called moderate. However, other Democrats have signaled they may run in the district should the map hold.
As I highlighted last month, with comment from Ramirez and several other Republican challengers, Gov.-Elect Glenn Youngkin won Spanberger's district by 11 percentage points.
In that Sunday statement, Spanberger indeed called out Manchin:
HENRICO, V.A. — U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement after U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that he will not be voting to advance the Build Back Better framework in the U.S. Senate.
“Many provisions in the Build Back Better framework are critical for the long-term health, safety, and security of our families and our communities. These provisions — including extending the refundable Child Tax Credit, combatting climate change, and lowering prescription drug costs — matter to Virginians. The expanded Child Tax Credit has dramatically lowered child hunger rates at dining rooms and kitchen tables across our Commonwealth. The U.S. military agrees that the national security threat posed by the climate crisis is far too major to ignore. And too many Virginia seniors are being forced to choose between paying for their lifesaving medications or covering their rent.
“During this process, we should not ignore that Members of the Republican Party have wholly refused to work with Democrats on these priorities. But after months of negotiations, one Democratic U.S. Senator has now summarily walked away from productive negotiations. That is unacceptable, and we cannot act like this moment is the end. Children, families, and the future of our planet are counting on us. In the weeks and months ahead, I will keep working to deliver these meaningful investments to the people of Virginia.”
Spanberger's statement was mentioned by national outlets, including The New York Times and Eugene Robinson's opinion column for The Washington Post. Robinson referred to Spanberger as a Democratic member who was "less restrained" in her reaction.