An “A” Bridge Grade is Given to Members of Congress Who Exemplify Governing Behaviors that Bridge Our Country Rather than Divide It

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger this week was ranked as the most collaborative Member of Congress from Virginia — and the third most collaborative lawmaker on Capitol Hill.

Bridge Grades score Members of Congress on their ability to collaborate, build coalitions, deliver consensus solutions, and bridge divides in our country. In the latest Bridge Grades report released by Bridge Pledge, a project that aims to counter political polarization, Spanberger ranks the highest of any lawmaker from Virginia in either the U.S House or U.S. Senate. With a new “A” Bridge Grade of 99.42 out of 100, Spanberger also ranks as the third least politically polarized federal lawmaker of either party nationwide.

“In Congress, my job — first and foremost — is to deliver for the Virginians I serve. This mission can only be accomplished when we bring people together to get things done,” said Spanberger. “With the release of this year’s Bridge Grades report, I’m proud to be ranked among the most collaborative, consensus-seeking Members of Congress. From the bipartisan infrastructure law for Virginia’s infrastructure to the Honoring Our PACT Act for Virginia’s Veterans, we’ve seen how we can deliver progress by uniting around the issues that are most important to our communities and our country.”

METHODOLOGY: Bridge Grades aggregate public data sources to assess Members of Congress on four core dimensions: collaboration, coalition building, consensus solutions, and commitments to bridging. Bridge Grade uses six public sources — including the Lugar Center and Georgetown University McCourt School’s Bipartisan Index and the Common Ground Committee’s Common Ground Scorecard— and blends 12 metrics into a numerical grade indexed on a 100-point scale, which then gets translated into letter grades. Lawmakers with “A” or “B” grades are deemed “bridgers,” while those rated “C” or “F” are “dividers.” The report does not assess issue positions or ideology.

Earlier this year, the nonpartisan Lugar Center once again ranked Spanberger as the most bipartisan Member of Congress from Virginia. Additionally, the Common Ground Committee ranked Spanberger as the most bipartisan Member of Congress from Virginia — and she received the fourth-highest score of any lawmaker in the country.

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