John Kiriakou's term for a wave of 2016-era congressional candidates with intelligence or military backgrounds who ran for office opposing Trump from the right on Russia — including former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger, who won a one-term-limited Virginia governorship, and former DIA official Elissa Slotkin, who moved from intelligence into Congress and the Senate — both of whom Kiriakou suggests are positioning for future presidential runs.
CIA Democrats (2016) is John Kiriakou’s term for a wave of candidates with intelligence or military backgrounds who ran for Congress and the Senate in the 2016 election cycle, opposing Donald Trump from the right on the issue of Russia.[1]
Kiriakou points to former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger, who won election as governor of Virginia — a position term-limited to a single term, meaning she cannot run for reelection — as well as former Defense Intelligence Agency official Elissa Slotkin, who moved from intelligence work into the House of Representatives and then the Senate, as examples of the trend. He suggests both are positioning themselves for a future presidential or vice-presidential run rather than building a conventional political career.[2]
