Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political science professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, said Spanberger’s outreach to the ideological middle has been integral to her success in the “purple” 7th District. “She worked very aggressively at focusing on concerns in more rural parts of the area where Republicans are more numerous and basically did better in rural parts of the district than most Democrats usually do,” Farnsworth said. “Issues of importance to farmers, issues of expanding broadband, these are some key things that she focused on to connect with more Republican-leaning parts of the district.”
