Big news from VoteVets:
Memorandum RE: VoteVets Historic Investment in the Virginia Governor’s Race
To: Interested Parties
From: Les MacDonald, Managing Director, VoteVets and Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton, VoteVets Chair
Date: February 13, 2025
When VoteVets candidates step up to run, they win. That’s why, today, VoteVets is pleased to make a historic investment in the Virginia governor’s race, directly contributing $500,000 to Abigail Spanberger’s campaign. As a national security professional who has been a VoteVets-endorsed candidate since her first Congressional run, when she flipped a competitive House seat, Spanberger is now the recipient of the largest single donation in the 20-year history of VoteVets.
Spanberger’s unique voice positions her to win; she’ll focus on the issues Virginians care about most, instead of being swept up in the chaos of Washington. As a working mom, she’s faced the same daily challenges that so many Virginians do, and deeply understands their concerns. She’ll continue her track record of lowering costs, tackling the drug epidemic, and bringing both sides together to get things done. At a time of increasing uncertainty and legitimate security fears, Abigail will govern with authority, and will ensure the safety and wellbeing of Virginia’s families.
We are stepping up because we know that investing in candidates like Abigail is key to Democrats’ success. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.
All Eyes on Virginia:
Virginia will be the first major test for Democrats coming out of the 2024 election cycle. A battleground state every “off year,” Virginia has consistently set the tenor for upcoming Midterms. While we’re not taking our eyes off the administration and efforts to hold them accountable when appropriate, we are also excited to set our sights on the future. That starts with winning back the governor’s mansion in Richmond this fall.
Three million voters participated in the 2021 gubernatorial in Virginia, and the election was decided by less than 64,000 votes. As the Commonwealth is home to over 600,000 Veterans and over 120,000 active duty Servicemembers,VoteVets’ engagement of these Veteran and military families just may be the key factor in a competitive election.
With our investment today, VoteVets is launching a video across our digital platforms that amplifies the voice of one of those Virginia Veterans, announcing our support for Spanberger. Like all voters, Veterans care about a wide array of issues. The video speaks directly to Virginians about issues we all care about and which Abigail will fight for: lowering costs, tackling drug addiction in rural areas, and ensuring politicians are actually listening to and working for the people they serve.
Candidates Who Win:
Abigail Spanberger is the type of candidate we know can win. She can speak with credibility and authority to various audiences across the political spectrum — something that can’t be said for every candidate. She’ll stay focused on issues Virginians care about and, with VoteVets’ support, can prove she will fight to make life better for them.
In 2024, VoteVets-endorsed candidates were victorious even in extraordinarily difficult contests. In an election where Republicans won control of all branches of the Federal government, our vocal support and bold ads were pivotal in clinching victory: Reuben Gallego for the Arizona Senate seat, Elissa Slotkin for Michigan’s Senate seat, and Andy Kim’s New Jersey Senate seat. Stateside, we rallied for Jeff Jackson, who won a crucial Attorney General’s race in North Carolina. In pivotal House races, VoteVets’ work yielded new members such as Congressman Derek Tran in California’s 45th Congressional District and Maggie Goodlander in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District (where VoteVets invested in an independent expenditure that helped guide her through a competitive primary process).
VoteVets selects candidates based on their credibility, their character, and their democratic ideals. With strong service records or national security experience, our candidates also have an ability to reach independent and swing voters that are crucial to winning elections.
On the state level in the past, VoteVets has already been key in electing popular governors such as Tim Walz in Minnesota and Wes Moore in Maryland, as well as Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fonte, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.
Investments That Matter:
Last cycle alone, VoteVets spent $50 million helping to elect VoteVets-endorsed candidates. Our investments proved to be effective in helping candidates get across the finish line and we were able to see a success rate at a time when other Democrats were not as successful. Thanks in part to our investments, 143 VoteVets-endorsed candidates clinched victory amidst a global rightward lurch.
In addition to resources invested directly into campaigns, VoteVets holds exclusive access to a proprietary Veteran & Military Family Voter File with over 10 million voter records (80+% confidence), giving us the singular power to surgically target Veterans and military families and mobilize them to vote. Over the past several cycles, we have deployed Veteran-centric direct mail and relational Veteran-to-Veteran organizing, thereby demonstrably increasing Veteran and military family turnout in key states and districts across the nation — and growing the power and resonance of the Veteran voice as a voice of authentic authority and integrity on matters of policy.
Simply put, with the right message and messengers, VoteVets can target voters that no one else in the Democratic ecosystem can — voters that can make the difference in Virginia and tight midterm races we expect in 2026.
Building A Bench:
Investing in state and local candidates today ensures that Democrats have the strongest bench possible moving forward. VoteVets was proud to invest in Abigail Spanberger when she did what others thought was impossible: flipping her Republican district and then keeping it for several cycles amid difficult headwinds for Democrats. We have been honored to support Abigail as she has parlayed that early investment into a tremendous Congressional career and, now, into a formidable candidacy for Governor.
Looking forward to 2026/2028, we understand greatly the need to recruit and build up a roster of veteran and military candidates to retake the House and Senate. To this end, we have developed a leadership pipeline from among the Veterans who engage with our work, and we will build a stable of candidates while preparing for the work to come. The Virginia governor’s race is just the beginning of our work this cycle and beyond.
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