Yesli Vega Runs from Trump’s Endorsement in VA-07

Yesli Vega was endorsed by former president Donald Trump last night. But you won’t hear about it from her.

The Associated Press reported that Vega downplayed and brushed off Trump’s endorsement, absurdly claiming she had only just learned of the endorsement on her way to an event this afternoon – 18 hours after the endorsement was first posted.

Vega’s sprint away from Trump’s endorsement isn’t the first time she’s tried to hide her association with him. In August, after barely winning her primary, it was reported that Vega scrubbed any mention of Trump from her Twitter bio.

“Just a few short months ago, Yesli Vega proudly described herself as the ‘most conservative candidate’ in the race and touted Trump on her social media,” said DCCC spokesperson Monica Robinson. “Now she’s sprinting away from his endorsement. Vega sees the writing on the wall and she knows Virginians will reject her toxic politics at the polls.”

Associated Press: Trump endorses Yesli Vega, Spanberger’s GOP challenger
By Sarah Rankin
October 28, 2022

• While Vega did not immediately tout the endorsement, Virginia Democrats moved quickly to highlight it. Over the course of his term, the former president ignited a wave of Democratic resistance in Virginia, a state he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020 by 10 points.
• Vega told reporters at a rally Friday afternoon in Stafford that she had just learned of the endorsement — which was posted on social media Thursday night — on the way to the event.
• “I’ve gotten a lot of endorsements. I’ve gotten the most important endorsements for me, which is the voters of the 7th District. So I’m really excited,” she said.
• Vega said she was “laser focused” on the Nov. 8 election. Asked if the endorsement could hurt her with voters who were still undecided, she responded: “This race is between myself and my opponent, not anybody else.”
• Spanberger emphasized the endorsement Thursday night in a tweet, saying: “Tonight, my opponent was endorsed by former President Trump. Virginians are exhausted by his division, lies, and hyper-partisanship.”