Democrats are setting their sights on two Republican-held Virginia congressional districts they want to flip from red to blue in 2026. One of those is the First Congressional District.
Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor is the latest candidate to throw her hat into the ring of an already crowded Democratic primary of candidates who are eager to take on incumbent Republican Congressman Rob Wittman.
"I think what you are seeing as far as the number of Democrats who are lining up to compete for their nomination this time is the fact that the DCCC decided to add the congressman to a list of people that they would very much like to target," says First District Republican Committee Chairman Jeff Ryer.
That would be the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is targeting Virginia's First District as one of 35 Republican-held seats they’re trying to flip. Regional press secretary Eli Cousin says Wittman is vulnerable.
"He has come to represent everything that's wrong with D.C. politicians," Cousin says. "And he has made himself uniquely vulnerable by rubber stamping a politically toxic agenda that is only making life harder for working families."
Case in point: Wittman's vote in favor of the president's tax and spending bill. Democrats say the new law will kick hundreds of thousands of people in Virginia off Medicaid. Wittman says Medicaid is facing a crisis, and his vote for reform will safeguard the program's long-term sustainability.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
