Two women — Democrats, centrists, national security experts — aim higher. By Jennifer Rubin — Read time: 4 minutes

Democracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Two women — Democrats, centrists, national security experts — aim higher

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July 31, 2023 at 7:45 a.m. EDT

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) at an Oct. 25 campaign event in Dumfries, Va. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Spurred into national security service, tested after 9/11 and mobilized by their horror over the results of the 2016 presidential election, a crop of highly capable Democratic women ran for the House and won in 2018. They impressed their peers and constituents not only on national security issues but also with their pragmatic centrism. Two are now poised to move onto the national stage.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has announced she is running for Senate, and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) is reportedly preparing to run for governor in 2025. As I learned in researching my book, their motive for running for office was grounded in the same genuine devotion to public service that motivated their prior service.

Once elected, they got a boost from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Having spent years on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Pelosi well understood how essential national security credentials are for women with ambitions for national leadership. Pelosi assigned Slotkin to the Committee on Homeland Security and Committee on Armed Services. Spanberger, as a freshman, was put on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By 2021, Slotkin chaired a Homeland Security subcommittee. By 2023, Spanberger was on the Select Intelligence Committee, just as Pelosi had been for years.

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There are obvious parallels in the two women’s careers. Slotkin served in the CIA, followed by stints in the State and Defense departments. Spanberger served in the CIA before running in 2018. Both have won three tough election fights in competitive districts. Then-Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney (R) endorsed both in 2022.

Given their districts and their national security backgrounds, it’s not surprising they both earned reputations as moderate Democrats who are reliable votes for bipartisan legislation (e.g., the bipartisan infrastructure law) and staunch advocates for abortion rights and reasonable gun safety laws. However, they also have been willing to tangle with the left flank of the party on national security and spending.

As the New Republic reported, “Slotkin opposed student debt assistance on a vote supported by 93 percent of the caucus, voted against 85 percent of her caucus on whether the United States should even study the impact of its sanctions on other countries, voted to overturn locally enacted criminal justice and voting rights reforms in Washington, D.C., and even voted against 94 percent of her caucus to bar security clearance from anyone who has used cannabis.” She also opposed Medicare-for-all and abolition of the death penalty.

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And both have championed good-government reforms despite opposition from party leadership. Spanberger introduced and Slotkin co-sponsored a bill to bar members of Congress and their spouses from individual stock ownership.

Spanberger and Slotkin, models for fellow Democrats worried about losing the heartland and/or working-class White voters, refute the GOP talking point that Democrats are a bunch of socialists. At a time when deep tribalism pervades politics and the Republican Party has descended into reactionary nationalism, these are the sort of politicians (akin to Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana) who can appeal to Democrats, independents and the kind of normal Republicans whom defeated and indicted former president Donald Trump alienated.

That leaves Spanberger and Slotkin well positioned to win statewide in states with a history of electing moderate Democrats (e.g., Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner in Virginia, Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in Michigan). Their brand of pragmatic, center-left politics also potentially makes them viable on the national stage. Recent presidential elections have turned on fewer than 100,000 votes spread over swing states such as Arizona, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Down the road, you could image either winning these states.

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The two congresswomen possess something else as well. Having spent time with both since 2018, I’ve observed that they come across as decent, normal people who are at ease with other decent, normal people outside the Beltway. They speak succinctly and directly, without political jargon or empty sound bites. Comfortable in their own skin, they lack the air of self-importance and the grandiosity that afflict many politicians.

Given that neither has yet to win any race beyond the House, one should be careful of long-range predictions. However, as one Democratic insider said of Spanberger, “She’s too big a talent for the House. If she wins, she’s immediately a national figure.” The same can be said of Slotkin.

The country (and the Democratic Party) surely could use pragmatic, authentic women as adept at purple-state politics as they are at national security policy.