Spanberger was born Abigail Anne Davis[2] in Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 7, 1979,[3] where her father was a police officer and her mother was a nurse.

[4] She relocated with her parents, Martin and Eileen Davis,[5] to Short Pump, in Henrico County in Virginia, outside Richmond, when she was 13 after her father moved from policing to federal law enforcement for the United States Postal Inspection Service.

[6] In the early 2000s, she taught English literature as a substitute teacher at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia[7] and worked as a postal inspector, focusing on money laundering and narcotics cases.

[12] In July 2017, Spanberger announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Virginia's 7th congressional district in the 2018 election against incumbent Republican Dave Brat, a Tea Party movement member.

[18] In August, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Republican speaker of the House Paul Ryan, conducted a smear campaign against Spanberger.

The smear campaign, which attempted to tie her to terrorism, was based on an SF-86 application she completed to obtain security clearance, which was inappropriately released in breach of privacy rules.

[25] Spanberger faced a close reelection contest against state Delegate Nick Freitas, who represents much of the congressional district's northern portion.

[30] Calling the elections "a failure" from a congressional standpoint, she singled out Republican attack ads decrying "socialism" and the movement to "defund the police" as prime reasons the Democratic Party lost seats in swing districts.

[31] The Washington Post digital editor James Downie criticized Spanberger's view, remarking that if a losing officeholder "couldn't manage to tie his or her Republican opponent to almost a quarter of a million COVID-19 deaths in the United States, a tanked economy or a dozen other policy fiascos, that's the candidate's fault.

"[33] Downie quoted progressive representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had noted that no swing-district House Democrat who co-sponsored Medicare for All lost their seat, and had remarked in response to Spanberger's comments that "not a single member of Congress that I'm aware of campaigned on socialism or defunding the police in this general election.

"[33][34] After the 2020 United States redistricting cycle, Spanberger's district was radically redrawn, and no longer included her home in Henrico County.

Spanberger was seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbents of the 2022 election cycle, with pre-election polls projecting a close race with Republican Prince William County supervisor Yesli Vega, a law enforcement officer endorsed by Governor Glenn Youngkin and former president Donald Trump.

[40] On September 23, 2019, Spanberger joined six other freshman House Democrats with national security backgrounds in calling for an impeachment inquiry into Trump.

[43][44][45] Spanberger took issue with Trump after police used tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protestors and a priest during the George Floyd protests to clear a path so that he could have a photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church.

[56] Upon announcing her candidacy, disinformation proponents made numerous fake URLs that mimic Spanberger's web address, but lead to webpages for Republican candidate Winsome Sears.

[66] In November 2020, Spanberger led a bipartisan effort to secure the 340B Drug Pricing Program against changes that would lead to significant increases in prescription medication costs.

[68][69] Spanberger has called climate change "one of the greatest and most imminent threats to our economy, our national security, and our way of life" and said she will "stand up to attacks against science.

"[63] During a Committee on Foreign Affairs meeting in 2019, Spanberger asked the Trump administration to reverse its isolationist policies, saying, "it's in [the US's] national interest to reinforce our stature as a global leader on international environmental and energy issues.

[71] In February 2023, Spanberger, along with Representatives Randy Weber (R‑TX 14th), Lizzie Fletcher (D‑TX 07th), Nancy Mace (R‑SC 01st), Don Davis (D‑NC 01st), and Anna Eshoo (D‑CA 16th), introduced the Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act, which aims to share federal offshore wind power revenue with states for coastal protection and restoration work.

[78][79] In 2023, Spanberger voted against overturning the District of Columbia's revision of its criminal code, which reduced the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking, and robbery.