By BILL BARROW, OLIVIA DIAZ and MIKE CATALINI

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger opened her general election bid for Virginia governor Wednesday using her high school alma mater near Richmond.

“I grew up walking the halls of Tucker High School,” the former congresswoman says as she walks past a bank of lockers in her first ad since securing the Democratic nomination. Later, she notes her experience as a CIA case officer, then in the halls of Congress as a tough-minded, get-things-done lawmaker.

The same kind of message is echoing in New Jersey from Rep. Mikie Sherrill, as she also makes a bid for governor. Both women are selling themselves as Democrats who can rise above the rancor of Donald Trump’s Washington.

For national Democrats who have spent months debating how to counter the president’s aggressive second administration, it’s a reminder of what worked for the party during Trump’s first term. Spanberger and Sherrill were headliners in the 2018 roster of center-left Democrats who helped flip House control from Republicans with balanced appeals to moderates, progressives and even anti-Trump conservatives. Now, they’re leading statewide tickets in races that could offer Democrats a back-to-the-future path forward as they look toward next year’s midterms.

“There are a lot of similarities” in Democrats’ current position and the 2018 campaigns, said Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., who, as a House member, chaired his party’s congressional campaign arm during Trump’s first midterm election cycle.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., greets people during a “Get Out the Vote” rally, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Elizabeth, N.J. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

The 2018 Democratic freshman class yielded a net gain of 40 seats with a lineup that featured record numbers of women and plenty of candidates with national security and business backgrounds. A similar effort yielded a net gain of six governors.

The party’s 2018 winners also included outspoken progressives like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, elected in more liberal, urban districts. But the balance of power shifted on the backs of centrist candidates who carried the nation’s suburbs and improved Democrats’ performance in exurbs and even small-town, GOP-dominated areas.

Among Spanberger’s and Sherrill’s freshman colleagues were Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, another former CIA analyst, who won a suburban Detroit seat before her elevation to the Senate last November; Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army officer, who represents suburban Denver; and Rep. Angie Craig, who flipped a GOP-held seat in greater Minneapolis and now is running for Senate. Crow is now co-chairman of candidate recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Similar resumes are popping up among new Democratic recruits. In Michigan, for example, Bridget Brink, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, announced her bid for Slotkin’s old 7th Congressional District on Wednesday by leaning into her international experience as a counter to Trump.

Luján said the common thread has been recruiting “real people, regular folks” with “incredible credentials” and an ability to hold “a real conversation with people around economic issues … around the kitchen table” and campaign in any area.

So even as New Jersey’s Sherrill calls her Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli a “Trump lackey” and Spanberger pledges in a fundraising email to “defeat Trump’s agenda at the ballot box,” their wider appeal depends on different arguments.

Sherrill has from the start touted her biography: a Naval Academy graduate, Navy Sea King helicopter pilot, federal prosecutor and mother of four. Her blue and gold yard signs have a chopper hovering above her name. She is also promising an “Affordability Agenda” to address voters’ economic concerns.

Spanberger, part of the Problem Solvers Caucus when she was on Capitol Hill, leans into her deal-making centrism, promises to confront economic gaps and has pledged to campaign in every Virginia congressional district, including where Trump has dominated.

“It’s not the job of the governor of Virginia to cater to President Trump,” Spanberger said in one of her final primary campaign speeches. “It’s not the job of the governor of Virginia to cater to a political party.”

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In an Associated Press interview earlier this spring, Spanberger even criticized former President Joe Biden for “posturing” by promising to eliminate student debt — something he could not accomplish by presidential action alone. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she said.

She also bristled when asked to describe her place on the political spectrum. She instead said she set goals by asking, “How do I impact the most people in the fastest way possible?”

Jared Leopold, a Democratic strategist who worked as a senior staffer for the Democratic Governors Association during the 2018 cycle, said it’s notable that Spanberger and Sherrill avoid getting mired in the internal party tussle among progressives, liberals and moderates.

“Most voters aren’t really thinking about things along a simple left-right political spectrum,” especially in statewide races, Leopold said. “People are looking for politicians who they think understand them and can get things done to help them.”

He pointed to another 2018 Democratic standout: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Now a potential 2028 presidential candidate, Whitmer first gained national attention as a state legislator who spoke out about abortion rights and her experience of being raped as a college student. But she became a juggernaut in the governor’s race with what Leopold called a “brilliant and simple” slogan: “Fix the damn roads!”

Of course, Democrats do not dispute that a candidate’s military and national security experiences help neutralize routine Republican attacks of all Democrats as too liberal or out of touch.

“These credentials for how they’ve served the country — they’re just sharing who they are,” Luján said.

Said Leopold: “It certainly gives a different definition of what the Democratic Party is to some voters.”

In Virginia, Republican nominee and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who like Spanberger would become the first woman to serve in the state’s top elected office, is trying to tie the Democratic nominee to her national party.

Earle-Sears’ social media accounts frequently share pictures of Spanberger and Biden hugging and wearing masks. She accuses Spanberger of effectively rubber-stamping Biden’s legislative agenda while in Congress.

“Part of the challenge,” Spanberger retorts, “is that either my opponent or people who might be running anywhere, who don’t necessarily have things to run on, are going to try and distract.”

Spanberger, Sherrill and Democrats like them hope that most voters assess the GOP attacks and their own branding efforts like Fred Martucci, a retired glazier who voted early in Trenton, New Jersey.

The 75-year-old expressed a visceral distaste for Trump. As for what impresses him about Sherrill, he said: “She was a Navy helicopter pilot. You can’t be a dummy — she’s sharp.”

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Barrow reported from Atlanta, Catalini from Trenton, New Jersey.

By STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN and SAM McNEIL

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister will meet in Geneva on Friday with counterparts from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Iranian state media and European diplomats said, as Israeli airstrikes target his country’s nuclear and military sites and Iran fires back.

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Europe’s push for diplomacy is in sharp contrast to messages from Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump openly weighing bombing Iran and calling for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian leadership.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Geneva for the meetings Friday, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. European diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential talks, confirmed the meetings.

“All sides must show restraint, refrain from taking steps which lead to further escalation in the region, and return to diplomacy,” read a joint statement issued Wednesday by France, Germany, the U.K. and the EU.

The three European countries, commonly referred to as the E3, played an important role in the negotiations over the original 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. But they have repeatedly threatened to reinstate sanctions that were lifted under the deal if Iran does not improve its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

The meeting in Geneva could also provide the three European nations and the EU with a unique opportunity to reach out to Iran in what is going to be the first face-to-face meeting between Western officials and Tehran since the start of the conflict a week ago. It’s a timely moment for Europe to test the chances for a diplomatic solution and seek Iran’s positions amid escalating rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran.

Lammy is flying to Washington on Thursday to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The U.S. may want to use the U.K.-controlled base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in a potential strike on Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordo but is not believed to have requested to do so yet.

“The EU will continue to contribute to all diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to find a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, which can only be through a negotiated deal,” said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesperson for the European Commission. “This is why, an intense outreach activity involving all relevant sides is currently underway to preserve room for diplomacy and create the conditions for a negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.”

Germany says there must be movement from Iran

Germany’s foreign minister has underlined European countries’ willingness to talk to Iran about a solution to its nuclear program, but says there needs to be movement from Tehran.

Johann Wadephul said Wednesday that the three European countries, which were part of Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement, “still stand ready to negotiate on a solution.”

But he added: “Iran must now move urgently. Iran must take confidence-building and verifiable measures – for example, in that the leadership in Tehran makes it credible that it is not striving for a nuclear weapon.”

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz also discussed the Israel-Iran conflict with Qatar’s ruler ahead of the Geneva talks. A statement from the chancellor’s office said he and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani agreed Thursday that the conflict must not expand to other countries in the region.

It added that “they stressed that room must be maintained for diplomatic efforts” and that Merz informed Al Thani about Friday’s planned meeting in Geneva.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Thursday that France and Europeans partners are ready to “resume negotiations” with Iran. Barrot did not confirm the Geneva meeting.

Iranian authorities’ message was “relatively clear: there is a willingness to resume talks, including with the United States, provided that a ceasefire can be reached,” Barrot said in a news conference in Paris.

“On our side, there is a willingness to resume negotiations, provided that these negotiations can lead to lasting, substantial steps backward by Iran regarding its nuclear program, its ballistic program and its activities to destabilize the region,” Barrot said.

No U.S. delegates at the Geneva talks on Friday

Trump has given increasingly pointed warnings about the U.S. joining Israel in striking at Tehran’s nuclear program even as Iran’s leader warned anew that the United States would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it attacks.

A U.S. official said Wednesday there no plans for U.S. involvement in nuclear talks set between senior European diplomats and Iran in Geneva, although that could change.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic communications, also noted that the Europeans have been wanting to play a role in the negotiations for months but have been held back by the U.S.

That position, the official said, may be changing as the hostilities intensify.

Israel asserts it launched its airstrike campaign last week to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon. It came as Iran and the United States had been negotiating over the possibility of a new diplomatic deal over Tehran’s program, though Trump has said Israel’s campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks. Iran’s supreme leader rejectedU.S. calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes Wednesday and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them.”

Iran long has insisted its nuclear program was peaceful, though it was the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, was still conducting inspections, though limited, in the country. U.S. intelligence agencies as well have said they did not believe Iran was actively pursuing the bomb.

McNeil reported from Barcelona. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Lorne Cooke in Brussels, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Matt Lee in Washington and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

By SEUNG MIN KIM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to tap Chad Meredith, a former state solicitor general in Kentucky, for a federal judgeship in the state — a move that could face objections from Sen. Rand Paul, who opposed the nomination three years ago.

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Meredith was the starring player in a bit of judicial nominations drama in the previous administration, when then-President Joe Biden had agreed to nominate Meredith, who was enthusiastically supported by Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former Senate majority leader. It was a curious move at the time, because Meredith had a track record of defending Kentucky’s anti-abortion laws and the nomination would come in the immediate aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that eliminated a constitutional right to the procedure.

But Paul indicated to the Biden White House at the time that he would block Meredith’s confirmation proceedings from moving forward, so the former president never formally nominated him. Biden’s decision to back off Meredith was also a relief to Democrats and abortion rights groups who had been enraged at the prospect of Biden tapping an anti-abortion lawyer for a lifetime judiciary seat.

In a social media post announcing the nomination, Trump called Meredith “highly experienced and well qualified.”

“Chad is a courageous Patriot who knows what is required to uphold the Rule of Law, and protect our Constitution,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday night.

McConnell said in a statement Wednesday that Trump made an “outstanding choice” in choosing Meredith, who also served as chief deputy general counsel for former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.

“His demonstrated devotion to the rule of law and the Constitution will serve the people of Kentucky well on the federal bench,” McConnell said. “I look forward to the Senate confirming his nomination.”

Paul’s office did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday night on the nomination. Three years ago, Paul accused McConnell of cutting a “secret deal” with the White House as a reason why Meredith’s nomination never moved forward under Biden.

“Unfortunately, instead of communicating and lining up support for him, Senator McConnell chose to cut a secret deal with the White House that fell apart,” Paul said at the time.

Paul never made any substantive objections about Meredith himself. It’s unclear whether Paul would hold similar process concerns with Meredith’s formal nomination under Trump.

But Paul had effective veto power over a judicial pick in his home state because the Senate continues to honor the so-called blue slip rule, a decades-old custom that says a judicial nominee won’t move forward if there is opposition from his or her home-state senator. The Biden White House also deferred to that custom, which is why Biden never ended up nominating Meredith.

Though the rule has been eroded in part, namely for appellate court judges whose seat spans several states, the custom has remained intact for district court nominees who are more closely tied to their home states. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has so far made no indication that he would deviate from that longstanding custom.

Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an adviser at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, criticized Trump’s selection of Meredith given his “disturbing anti-abortion record.”

“The nomination of Chad Meredith to a lifetime judgeship should trouble everyone,” Zwarensteyn said.

By BEN FINLEY

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — A ceremonial groundbreaking will be held Thursday for the rebuilding of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches, whose congregants first gathered outdoors in secret before constructing a wooden meetinghouse in Virginia.

The First Baptist Church of Williamsburg officially established itself in 1776, although parishioners met before then in fields and under trees in defiance of laws that prevented African Americans from congregating. Free and enslaved members erected the original church house around 1805, laying the foundation with recycled bricks.

Reconstructing the 16-foot by 32-foot (5-meter by 10-meter) building will help demonstrate that “Black history is American history,” First Baptist Pastor Reginald F. Davis told The Associated Press before the Juneteenth groundbreaking.

“Oral history is one thing but to have an image to go along with the oral history makes a greater impact on the psyche of oppressed people,” said Davis, who leads the current 215-member congregation in a 20th Century church that is less than a mile from the original site. “Black Americans have been part of this nation’s history before and since the Declaration of Independence.”

The original building was destroyed by a tornado in 1834. First Baptist’s second structure, built in 1856, stood there for a century. But the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a living history museum, bought the property in 1956 and turned the space into a parking lot.

Colonial Williamsburg had covered the costs of building First Baptist’s current church house. But for decades it failed to tell the church’s pioneering history and the stories of other colonial Black Americans.

In recent years, the museum has placed a growing emphasis on telling a more complete story about the nation’s founding. Colonial Williamsburg’s rebuilding of the church is an opportunity to tell Black history and resurrect the stories of those who originally built it.

Telling Virginia’s untold story

Rebuilding First Baptist’s original meetinghouse will fill an important historical gap, while bolstering the museum’s depiction of Virginia’s 18th century capital through interpreters and restored buildings. More than half of the 2,000 people who lived in Williamsburg at the time were Black, many of them enslaved.

Rev. James Ingram is an interpreter who has for 27 years portrayed Gowan Pamphlet, First Baptists’ pastor when the original church structure was built. Pamphlet was an enslaved tavern worker who followed his calling to preach, sermonizing equality, despite the laws that prohibited large gatherings of African Americans out of fear of slave uprisings.

“He is a precursor to someone like Frederick Douglass, who would be the precursor to someone like Martin Luther King Jr.,” Ingram said. “Gowan Pamphlet was leading the charge.”

The museum’s archaeologists uncovered the original church’s foundation in 2021, prompting Pastor Davis to say then that it was “a rediscovery of the humanity of a people.”

“This helps to erase the historical and social amnesia that has afflicted this country for so many years,” he said.

The archaeologists also located 62 graves, while experts examined three sets of remains and linked them to the congregation.

Scientists at William & Mary’s Institute for Historical Biology said the teeth of a Black male in his teens indicated some kind of stress, such as malnutrition or disease.

“It either represents the conditions of an enslaved childhood or far less likely — but possibly — conditions for a free African American in childhood,” Michael Blakey, the institute’s director, said in 2023.

‘It was a marvel’

In the early 1800s, the congregation acquired the property for the original church from a local white merchant. The land was low, soft and often soggy — hardly ideal for building, said Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg’s executive director of archaeology.

But the church’s congregants, many of whom were skilled tradespeople, made it work by flipping bricks on their side and making other adjustments to lay a level foundation.

“It was a marvel that they were able to build a structure there, but also that the structure persists and even grows bigger,” Gary said, adding that the church was later expanded.

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Based on their excavation, archaeologists surmise there was no heat source, such as a fireplace, no glass in the windows and no plaster finish, Gary said.

About 50 people could have sat comfortably inside, possibly 100 if they were standing. The congregation numbered about 500, which included people on surrounding plantations. Services likely occurred outside the church as well.

White planters and business owners were often aware of the large gatherings, which technically were banned, while there’s documentary evidence of some people getting caught, Gary said.

Following Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831, which killed more than 50 white people in Virginia’s Southampton County, the congregation was led by white pastors, though it was Black preachers doing the work, Gary said. The tornado destroyed the structure a few years later.

Boards are being cut

The museum is rebuilding the 1805 meetinghouse at its original site and will use common wood species from the time: pine, poplar and oak, said Matthew Webster, the museum’s executive director of architectural preservation and research. The boards are already being cut. Construction is expected to finish next year.

The windows will have shutters but no glass, Webster said, while a concrete beam will support the new church directly over its original foundation, preserving the bricks.

“When we build the earliest part of the church, we will put bricks on their sides and will lay them in that strange way because that tells the story of those individuals struggling to quickly get their church up,” Webster said. “And then when we build the addition, it will be this formal foundation that really shows the establishment of the church.”

Janice Canaday, who traces her lineage to First Baptist, said Williamsburg’s Black community never forgot its original location or that its graves were paved over in the 1950s.

“They will never be able to expunge us from the landscape,” said Canaday, who is also the museum’s African American community engagement manager. “It doesn’t matter if you take out the building. It doesn’t matter if you ban books. You will never be able to pull that root up because that root is so deep.”