EDITORIAL BOARD: “No Excuse” for Vega Dodging Questions on 2020 Election

The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star editorial board slammed Yesli Vega (VA-07) for dodging questions about the 2020 election – and for running from local press for the entirety of her campaign.

Vega’s local editorial board reached out with questions about a recent Washington Post report that highlighted Vega as an election denier candidate based on her repeatedly spreading false conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen. Vega refused to respond – and the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star called her “refusal to interact” with the press unsurprising:

“Vega’s refusal to interact isn’t surprising. She has never acknowledged our offer to put her views before our readers in the opinion pages. She refuses to return phone calls or answer questions from The Free Lance–Star. And most telling, she refused to debate Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Fredericksburg, because the UMW-sponsored event would have taken place at ‘a college of your base,’ she said in a tweet.”

Virginia editorial boards have been slamming Yesli Vega for being unfit to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, including the Daily Progress and the Washington Post. Read more from The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star editorial board:

Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star: Editorial: Local reps mostly silent on 2020 election
By Editorial Board
October 15, 2022

• “The Washington Post on Oct. 6 released a stunning report about the number of Republicans who are ‘election deniers’ and running for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, Senate, or the House.”
• “Here in Virginia, Republican election deniers are involved in eight of the state’s 11 congressional district races. Four of them—Rob Wittman (1st), Bob Good (5th), Ben Cline (6th), and H. Morgan Griffith (9th)—are incumbents and favored to win their races. Two—Jen Kiggans (2nd) and Yesli Vega (7th)—are challengers in competitive races. The remaining two—Leon Benjamin (4th) and Hung Cao (10th)—are also challengers, but trailing in the polls and not expected to win their races.”
• “Only one of the eight candidates—Cao—bothered to respond. Credit him for at least taking the time to write, even if his responses were typical of the evasive tactics politicians are adept at delivering.”
• “For five of the remaining candidates, we can understand why they might not respond. Our reporting area is outside their districts. But there are no excuses for Vega and Wittman dodging these questions.”
• “Vega’s refusal to interact isn’t surprising. She has never acknowledged our offer to put her views before our readers in the opinion pages. She refuses to return phone calls or answer questions from The Free Lance–Star.”
• “And most telling, she refused to debate Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Fredericksburg, because the UMW-sponsored event would have taken place at ‘a college of your base,’ she said in a tweet.”
• “And why? Norman Leahy of the Washington Post has a pretty good handle on it. In a Sept. 28, 2022, column, he wrote: ‘Wittman’s actions, in part, stem from old-fashioned self-preservation.’ It seems that this analysis would apply to seven of the Republicans running for Congress that we reached out to.”
• “They would rather treat their followers’ delusions about the election with a wink and a nod, than stand up for the integrity of the system that put four of them in office. In Wittman’s case, the system has put him in office eight times.”
• “Our citizens, and our nation, deserve better.”