In the past, Abigail Spanberger’s experience as a CIA Agent would be seen as an advantage, but with trust in the intelligence community at a historic low, Spanberger’s career path may be a detriment.
In the earliest days of the country, military intelligence was dismissed as largely unreliable and trustworthy. That reputation followed them until World War II when the intelligence community racked up successes, but trust in the agencies began to erode as Cold War fears set in and intelligence failures embarrassed the FBI, CIA, and other agencies.
The information age has eroded trust even more. Declassified documents showing agency illegally spying on President Trump, FISA Court fraud, and massive FBI failures in tragedies such as the Oklahoma City Bombing have resulted in double digit declines in public trust of intelligence agencies.
“After 9/11, I walked the halls of CIA as a caseworker,” Spanberger proudly proclaims in her TV ads. Spanberger even went to lengths to run get her resume declassified to help her first Congressional campaign and had to get many of her scripted lines and talking points approved by the agency before sharing publicly.
In 2018, her 12 years of undercover work proved an asset, showing voters her career of service and dedication. Virginia voters last year similarly rewarded Congressman Eugene Vindman, a former military officer whose family was instrumental to the Democrat response to the Biden influence peddling scandal and instigated the first Trump impeachment.
Now, as the CIA and other so called alphabet agencies have faced increasing scandal, including only 61% of independents saying they “hardly ever” or “only some of the time” trust the FBI, Spanberger’s resume may raise questions of trust as much as it answers them.
Her CIA credentials are not the only thing beginning to weigh Spanberger down. Politico noted that national Democrats and the radical progressive wing of the party remain unpopular in Virginia and DNC Chair Ken Martin said the party had hit rock bottom this month after polling showed the party with a net favorability rating of -30.
“Her biggest vulnerability is being a Democrat in this moment, but she is sufficiently defining herself as a different kind of Democrat,” said Matt Bennett, co-founder of the left-wing group Third Way. “She watched carefully what happened to us in 2024 and is trying not to make the same mistakes, just trying to keep her focus on the things that voters actually care about and not get distracted by things that they don’t.”
As Spanberger works to define what a moderate Democrat is, Virginia voters will decide November 4th if Spanberger’s tenure as a spy makes them trust her more or less.
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