CULPEPER STAR-EXPONENT

Common Ground Committee has again ranked U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, as the most bipartisan Member of Congress from Virginia. She scored as the second-highest bipartisan lawmaker in the country, according to a release last week from the local congresswoman’s office.

The latest Common Ground Scorecard gave Spanberger 100 out of 100 points, putting her in the top one-half of one percent of all elected officials for finding common ground with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle, the release stated.

Common Ground Committee is a Connecticut-based nonprofit that “brings together prominent leaders with opposing views in a public forums to find areas of common ground,” according to the group’s website.

Spanberger’s score is 72 points higher than the average score of 28 — making her the most bipartisan elected official from Virginia and tied for second place in the entire country, according to her office.

The Common Ground Scorecard shows on a scale of 0 to 100 how much elected officials seek to find common ground with members of the other political party.

“American voters want their elected leaders to work together and do the hard work it will take to solve America’s most difficult challenges,” said Bruce Bond, CEO & Co-Founder, Common Ground Committee.

“We know that Members of Congress can work together to find areas of agreement for the good of the country — regardless of their political beliefs. We also believe that sticking to your principles and working to find common ground with your political opponents aren’t mutually exclusive concepts — you can do both. Congresswoman Spanberger understands that you can disagree without anger or rancor over a given issue, and I hope that more Members of Congress follow her lead.”

Spanberger said in a statement that the Virginians she serves expect her to work with her colleagues to get things done for the Commonwealth.

“Bipartisanship should never be the goal in and of itself — rather, it should be a means for delivering long-lasting progress,” she said. “That’s why I’m honored to once again be ranked as the most bipartisan lawmaker from Virginia, and I want to thank the Common Ground Committee for their continued work for the good for our communities.”

The Common Ground Scorecard was first released prior to the 2020 election and is updated annually by the nonpartisan, citizen-led organization devoted to improving public discourse in politics. In addition to their commitments and personal actions, CGC also incorporates third-party rankings on bipartisanship and other public sources of data, according to the release.