Incumbent Democrat Abigail Spanberger has reportedly backed out of a debate with her opponent – Yesli Vega – that was supposed to take place this coming Friday, October 21st in Prince William County.
As previously reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch,
“Prince William has the largest number of votes in the new district, created under a political map that the Virginia Supreme Court approved on Dec. 28. The new map shifts the 7th District from its base in the Richmond suburbs to the Fredericksburg area, eastern Prince William and portions of seven mostly rural localities.”
Both campaigns had previously agreed to the debate, and announced their respective commitments on Twitter.
Spanberger said she was looking forward to discussing “the issues that matter most to Virginians in front of a live audience.”
Mark your calendars, Virginia!
I’m looking forward to joining a televised debate on Friday, October 21 to discuss the issues that matter most to Virginians in front of a live audience. Thank you to the Prince William Committee of 100 & the @LWVVA for hosting.
See you then! 🇺🇸
— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) October 6, 2022
Vega also said she was “happy to announce that a debate is set.”
I am happy to announce that a debate is set! @LarryOConnor and @LisaDNews at Garfield Auditorium next Friday night at 7pm, hosted by PWC100 and LWV.
See you there @SpanbergerVA07.
— Yesli Vega (@yestoyesli) October 14, 2022
Now, Spanberger has reportedly backed out of Friday’s debate – per a media release issued by Vega’s team last night.
My release on @spanbergerva07 dropping out of debate to avoid questions about her campaign's support for jailing parents for not conforming to liberal woke culture. pic.twitter.com/6bNV5s29Ih
— Yesli Vega (@yestoyesli) October 16, 2022
Spanberger has recently faced questions on whether or not she would support a bill to make parents felons for not affirming their children identifying as LGBT. Democrat Delegate Elizabeth Guzman of Prince William County – who has endorsed Spanberger – announced last week that she would be introducing a bill in the Virginia House of Delegates next session to “would expand the state’s definition of child abuse and neglect to include parents who do not affirm their child’s gender identity or sexual orientation,” per 7News WJLA-TV.
Spanberger’s team has not issued any public statements regarding the debate scheduled for later this week since she announced her participation in the event on October 6th.