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Spanberger highlights law enforcement experience in Virginia gov race

Spanberger highlights law enforcement experience in Virginia gov race

The Hill6 days ago
Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger's (D-Va.) gubernatorial campaign launched a new ad on Tuesday highlighting her background in law enforcement.
The 30-second ad, which is narrated by Spanberger's father, Martin Davis, will be broadcast in the Richmond and Norfolk media markets and statewide on digital platforms. The Hill was the first outlet to view the ad.
Davis notes Spanberger's background working as a federal agent investigating child predators, narcotics cases and arresting drug dealers, as well as her record as a CIA officer working on counterterrorism cases.
'Service is something I was always talking about,' Davis, who is a career law enforcement officer and Army veteran, says in the ad. 'And I guess Abigail was listening, and that's how I know she'll make a great governor.'
Spanberger is seeking to flip Virginia's governor's mansion in the fall in a race that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated as 'lean Democratic.' She will face off against Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) in November.
A Roanoke College survey released in May showed Spanberger with a wide 43 percent to 26 percent lead over Earle-Sears, with 28 percent of voters saying they were undecided. However, another May poll released by the business group Virginia FREE showed Spanberger leading by 4 percentage points.
Spanberger also holds a fundraising lead over Earle-Sears. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Spanberger raised $6.5 million, while Earle-Sears brought in $3.5 million; Spanberger has more than $14 million in the bank, while Earle-Sears has just less than $3 million.
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Around New Jersey — NJ Transit's new budget 'calls for $980 million in fare revenue, but NJ Transit has failed to make its fare revenue goals for the past nine years,' Larry Higgs reports. What you may have missed NETFLIX EXEMPTION — POLITICO's Ry Rivard: Netflix is getting a major exemption from New Jersey's new coastal flood rules after months of lobbying over permitting issues at the sprawling former Army base it is working to redevelop. The carve-out will allow one of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's pet projects — a $1 billion film and television studio — to avoid complying with climate change regulations his administration has been working on since before the pandemic. Changes to the draft rules show the administration plans to exempt film studios, like Netflix, that have partnerships with the state's Economic Development Authority. Netflix is planning to build 12 soundstages at Fort Monmouth, a 292-acre former Army installation in Eatontown and Oceanport, New Jersey. State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon, a Republican who represents the area, said he's 'thrilled' Netflix got the carve-out but said every coastal development project should get the same level of 'deliberation and fair consideration.' The governor called changes to the flood rule a compromise. 'This is a classic situation where you're trying to get the right balance,' Murphy told reporters Tuesday in Newark. In lobbying disclosures from this year and last year, Netflix reported lobbying the DEP 'regarding environmental permitting issues related to the development of the former United States Army Base named Fort Monmouth.' The company also reported lobbying Eric Brophy, the governor's deputy chief of staff for economic development, about 'DEP flood report rules.' OFFSHORE WIND TRANSMISSION TERMINATED — POLITICO's Marie J. French: President Donald Trump's quest to stop 'windmills' in the ocean has led New York to abandon a major transmission project intended to support offshore wind. 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