The Daily 202: Ex-CIA officers running for Congress as Democrats

By James Hohmann October 18 at 7:57 AM

THE BIG IDEA: The spooks have come in from the cold, and they’re running for Congress.

Alarmed by President Trump and galvanized by Russian interference in the 2016 election, Democratic alumni of the Central Intelligence Agency are challenging Republican incumbents from Virginia to Michigan and New York.

Abigail Spanberger spent eight years overseas as an operations officer for the CIA, recruiting and developing spies, with a focus on counterterrorism. Before joining the agency, she worked in law enforcement for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service — targeting drug dealers and money laundering. In 2014, Spanberger left the agency and moved home to the Richmond suburb of Glen Allen, near where she and her husband grew up, to raise their three kids. The 38-year-old is now challenging Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), the Freedom Caucus leader who toppled then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a 2014 primary.

“There is a lot of concern among people living in our district about where we find ourselves on the international stage,” Spanberger said in an interview. “I believe very firmly that the United States of America is the world’s superpower, and we have a responsibility to be a stabilizing force.”

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