Spanberger has voted with Pelosi a relatively low 92% of the time

Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t  on the ballot in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, but her name is ever present in this fall’s closely-watched race between Democratic incumbent Abigail Spanberger and Republican Nick Freitas.

Freitas, a state legislator, has repeatedly accused Spanberger of breaking a 2018 promise to shun partisanship, and says she’s become a Pelosi loyalist

"She’s voted with Nancy Pelosi over 90% of the time…" he said during a Sept. 4 interview on Newsradio WRVA in Richmond.

We fact checked that statistic, which also is being cited on a TV ad sponsored by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a conservative super PAC.

The source of the statistic is ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative news service based in New York. Its data shows Spanberger and Pelosi agreed on 92% of the votes they both cast in this Congress, which began at the start of 2019.

There are a few things to keep in mind about this statistic.

First, majority parties vote overwhelmingly with the speaker, whom they elect. Spanberger is one of the least loyal Democrats to Pelosi. There are 232 Democrats in the House, and only 10 have voted in greater opposition to Pelosi than Spanberger.

More than half of the Democrats - 133 in total -  have agreed with Pelosi every time she’s voted this Congress. Even the most contrary Democrat - Collin Peterson of Minnesota - has voted with her 81%  of the time. 

Also keep in mind that speakers vote at their discretion, which means they usually vote only on the most partisanly-charged issues.

Featured Fact-check

Robert Hurt

stated on October 14, 2010 in a statement on candidate's web site

"Congressman Perriello voted in lock step with Nancy Pelosi 90 percent of the time."

The votes

Pelosi has participated in 9% of the House votes this session. That’s 74 votes, and Spanberger has agreed with her 68 times. They’ve been in sync on most major issues, including:

• Impeaching President Donald Trump on two counts of malfeasance;  
• Expanding Obamacare;
• Increasing the minimum wage;
• Overturning emergency funding for a border wall;
• Creating a path to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants; 
• Requiring background checks on all gun sales;
• Police reforms; and
• Keeping the U.S. in the environmental Paris Accords.

Of their six disagreeing votes, three concerned the Heroes Act - a $3 trillion tax cut and spending bill the House approved in May to spur the COVID-19 economy. Pelosi supported it. Spanberger voted against it, saying it was bloated with Democratic wish-list items. The bill is stalled in the Senate.

Spanberger voted against a budget deal last year that Pelosi negotiated, saying it would greatly enlarge the national debt. They also disagreed on a bill that would ban the manufacture and sale of flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes, which Spanberger opposed; and an amendment that would require customs official to be notified when an undocumented alien tries to buy a gun, which Spanberger backed. 

It should be noted that Spanberger didn’t support Pelosi’s election as speaker at the start of 2019 - an action not counted in ProPublica’s database. But even if it had been included, Spanberger would remain above the 90% level Freitas set for agreeing with the speaker. 

We should also note that Republicans are criticizing their opponents’ voting percentage with Pelosi in key races across the country. That includes Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District race, where Rep. Elaine Luria, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Scott Taylor.

Our ruling

Freitas says Spanberger has voted with Nancy Pelosi over 90% of the time." Let’s remember that only 10 Democrats voted against Pelosi more often than Spanberger.

But Freitas' statistic is solid; Spanberger and Pelosi agreed on 92 percent of the votes they both participated in. So we rate Freitas’ statement True.