Yesli Vega rode into her campaign, standing atop a motorcoach, waiving at a crowd of more than 400 people gathered near Dumfries to see her.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) stood next to the 7th-District Congressional candidate as the bus pulled into Montclair Tabernacle Church, at 16120 Dumfries Road. It was Vega’s second rally with high-profile politicians in Prince William County in the past three days.
Cruz led the pack as part of the Truth and Courage PAC bus tour of 17 states, rallying conservatives to bring 10 friends to the polls on Election Day, November 8. The common theme during the rally — a “red wave is sweeping the nation, and it began last year in Virginia.” It’s the second time Cruz has campaigned with Vega this year.
“A revival is coming,” said Cruz. “The pendulum is swinging back the other way, and the first sign of hope came with the election of Glenn Youngkin,” said Cruz.
Fresh off an appearance on the TV show “The View” earlier in the day, Cruz harshly criticized the Biden administration’s domestic and foreign policies. Cruz told the crowd nearly four-and-a-half million illegal immigrants had crossed the southern border since Biden took office, while small girls are separated from their parents, handed off to human traffickers, and sexually assaulted.
He called the military withdrawal in Afghanistan a point of weakness for the U.S., one in which world leaders viewed Biden as “weak, feckless, and ineffective.”
Cruz said Republicans are making gains in the Rio Grande Valley in his home state of Texas, an area affected greatly by southern border crossings. The GOP has a slate of women running in those races. However, of all the conservatives running for office this November, he’s most excited about Vega.
“Yesli is a fireball. I listen to Yesli talk and give me the torch, the pitchfork, and let’s March to take America back,” said Cruz.
Youngkin rallied for Vega for the second time in a week. He accused Vega’s opponent, Abigail Spanberger (D), the incumbent in the 7th District, for being “silent” after Prince William County Delegate Elizabeth Guzman told WJLA-TV she would reintroduce legislation that, if passed, would allow Child Protective Services to investigate, and potentially charge parents who don’t affirm a child’s chosen sexual identity.
He compared the comments to his gubernatorial opponent Terry McAuliffe, who said parents should not have a say about what teachers teach in public school classrooms. McAuliffe was on his way to winning the election, according to the polls, before making the comments in the campaign’s final weeks.
“This is a red wave that found its headwaters in Virginia, and it’s sweeping across the nation,” said Youngkin on Monday. “This is our chance to cement Virginia as a red state.”
Vega thanked her husband, children, and parents, who are El Salvadorian immigrants, for their support during the campaign. “I’m the proud daughter of immigrants. Only in America can you come with nothing and achieve everything,” Vega said.
Vega rallied supporters to the polls, assured them the 7th District would flip to GOP control, and that newly elected conservatives in Congress would work to reverse the recent gains of progressive Democrats.
“We’re past the point of Republicans and Democrats,” said Vega. “We’re at a point where it’s now about being an American.”
On Saturday, October 22, former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who renounced the Democratic Party earlier this month, joined Vega for rallies in Prince William and Stafford counties. Both counties the most populous in the new 7th District, which the Virginia Supreme Court redrew to contain parts of Northern Virginia.
Vega, who is relatively new to politics, was elected to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2019 to serve as as the Coles District Supervisor. In June, she excelled through a field of six fellow Republicans to win her party’s nomination.
Spanberger is a CIA case officer and federal law enforcement officer first elected to Congress in 2018.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Saturday, November 5, 2022, is the last day to vote early in person.
