Looking ahead, the representatives were clear that abortion is still a top issue for voters and spotlighted their plans to further protect abortion access in New Jersey and Virginia. Rep. Spanberger said “we’re looking to protect and codify the rights of women to access reproductive care, abortion access, but also contraception.”

“Reps. Sherrill and Spanberger have impressive records of fighting for people and standing up for abortion rights in Congress. Their leadership will be invaluable to New Jersey and Virginia and serve as the first line of defense against anti-abortion extremists,” said Ben Ray, interim vice president of federal and gubernatorial campaigns. “EMILYs List has proudly been with them through their time in Congress and looks forward to continuing to support them.”

Read highlights below, and the full article here.

Two Democrats are aiming to trade the halls of Capitol Hill for governor’s mansions in their home states of New Jersey and Virginia.

Reps. Mikie Sherrill, 52, and Abigail Spanberger, 45, were part of a wave of Democratic recruits with national security credentials who helped their party regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms, partly as a response to then-President Donald Trump’s chaotic first year in office.

As Trump returns to the White House, their 2025 campaigns to voters could serve as a playbook to help Democrats turn the page from losses in 2024.

Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot. She’s competing in a crowded primary in New Jersey in June that includes another House Democrat, Rep. Josh Gottheimer.

The two women, who became roommates in Washington, stressed in a joint interview with NPR that the year ahead provides a time to showcase the next generation.

“We have to cut our own path. We have to create a vision,” Sherrill said. She noted the spotlight will focus on these two states: “These are the only two races in the nation, the first two races in the nation, where we can stand up and say: This is the vision that we have of the future.”

Spanberger, a former CIA case officer, is trying to become the first female governor of Virginia and notes that they both came from what she calls “male-dominated” spaces: the military and intelligence fields.

“What I’ve always found to be the case is you just do a lot of hard work and as you’re opening doors, you make sure that it’s left wide open for all of the other competent folks who are going to follow your example — hopefully,” she said.

[…]

Both said they tried to build coalitions and make plans of attacks to address top priorities, even in a place like the Hill that leans toward incremental change. Spanberger recently worked with Louisiana GOP Rep. Garret Graves on a bill that preserves Social Security benefits for public service employees who have public pensions.

“Both of us have sort of come to the conclusion that our ability to effect change and to be nimble and to have an agenda and to make sure we get it passed will be even greater as members, as governors,” Sherrill said.

[…]

Another issue Democrats thought would help win races in 2024 — abortion access — is something both women said is still on voters’ minds.

Sherrill said she has two daughters, including one in the military — who could be assigned to serve in states like Texas or Florida with more restrictive abortion laws.

[…]

Spanberger says her pitch for governor is “we’re looking to protect and codify the rights of women to access reproductive care, abortion access, but also contraception.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Over nearly 40 years, EMILYs List has raised nearly $950 million to help Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the most impactful independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 192 women to the House, 29 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,600 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.