Thousands of absentee ballots were still uncounted in Henrico County — a part of the district where Spanberger has deep support — but absentee ballots have skewed heavily Democratic.
Two other Virginia Democrats who flipped red seats in 2018, Reps. Elaine Luria and Jennifer Wexton, have fended off Republican challengers to win a second term. In the race for an open 5th District seat, Republican Bob Good defeated Democrat Cameron Webb.
“Serving the Seventh District in Congress has been my honor, and I look forward to continuing our work to strengthen and protect our communities,” Spanberger said in a statement. She said voters had reelected a leader who “focuses on expanding opportunity for the next generation of Virginians.”
The race between Spanberger and Freitas unfolded in a closely watched swing district, two years after Spanberger ousted Republican incumbent Dave Brat as part of a blue wave that gave Democrats the majority in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation.
National GOP groups and the Club for Growth PAC poured in millions of dollars this year to try to return the district to Republican hands, while Spanberger outraised Freitas by more than a 2-to-1 ratio.
Freitas pushed a platform of limited government and free-market overhauls to health care. A former Green Beret, he also tried to capitalize on Virginia Republicans’ angst over the state’s new gun restrictions, promising strong protection of Second Amendment rights.
Spanberger, a former CIA officer and Postal Service investigator, presented herself as a moderate focused on issues affecting rural Americans. In campaign ads, she also highlighted her background in intelligence and national security.
In a late-afternoon message on social media Wednesday, Spanberger urged patience as elections officials finished counting the remaining ballots. Freitas had not commented publicly since late Tuesday night, when he acknowledged the race was too close to call.
His campaign was not immediately available to comment when reached Wednesday afternoon.
“I know this is a bit of an anxious time for so many people,” Spanberger said in a video message on Twitter. “But rest assured our team is watching it and we look forward to making sure that every single ballot is counted.”
Spanberger won in 2018 with hefty support from voters in the western Richmond suburbs — in Chesterfield and Henrico counties — and unofficial returns showed she had strong backing there again this year.
She was among several Democrats representing historically red districts to take the political risk of voting to impeach President Trump early this year, saying it was the right thing to do.
Freitas and Republican strategists criticized her for it, while trying to paint her as more liberal than moderate, by linking her to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Amid an unprecedented health crisis, Democrats made access to health care a key issue in the race. Spanberger and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee went after Freitas for his support for repealing the Affordable Care Act and for voting in the General Assembly against the state’s Medicaid expansion, among other things.
Laura Vozzella contributed to this report.
