Robert Wittman

Now that it’s clear Virginia’s congressional districts will remain intact for this year’s midterm elections, seven Democrats hope to be the one to challenge U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman in November.

The seven are running in the Democratic primary for the nomination to challenge Wittman, R-Westmoreland, the Democratic Party of Virginia announced last week. Wittman has represented Virginia’s 1st Congressional District since 2007, always winning reelection by a comfortable margin.

But Democrats think that 2026 will be the year they can break his 10-term incumbency. The district includes Williamsburg and Poquoson, along with James City, York, Gloucester, Mathews, New Kent and King William, and all or part of 10 other central and eastern Virginia counties.

For his part, Wittman said he is confident he is well positioned to take on any Democrat. “I believe voters will see a clear contrast in experience, priorities and results,” he said.

Wittman pointed to his legislative accomplishments such as the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act he sponsored and his work on the House Armed Services Committee advocating for service members and military communities as examples of proven, effective leadership.

But the Democrats who hope to challenge him dispute his contention of successful representation.

“Rob Wittman is not accessible,” said candidate Ericka Kopp of Henrico County, a healthcare lawyer. By contrast, Kopp said, accessibility is a hallmark of her campaign.

She has what she called an “action plan for accountability,” including a Supreme Court code of ethics, amending the privilege of presidential pardon, exploring articles of impeachment against Supreme Court justices and filing articles of impeachment against Trump, “on day one,” she said.

“Accountability is not a left or right issue, it’s a right or wrong issue,” she said.

Among Kopp’s legislative priorities is access to medical care, and she said she will work with colleagues to pass universal healthcare.

“I am a bold choice, yes, but at the same time I can offer creative solutions to get for the people what it is they want,” she said.

Jason Knapp, of Reedville, also hopes to unseat Wittman. Knapp is a retired Navy pilot and combat veteran and since his military service has been a clean-energy advocate.

According to Knapp, Democrats have ignored the rural stretches of the 1st District to their detriment. He said he believes he has the background and perspectives to attract rural and suburban voters.

As someone who relied on the social safety net as a child, Knapp said, he understands how painful rising costs can be for average Virginians — not just for food housing and medical care, but also the diesel and fertilizer prices that are harming farmers.

“Those are the major issues affecting people, regardless of party,” he said.

He believes Wittman should have taken a stand on reining in those costs but has chosen to stay silent.

Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs is a Hanover County veteran, advocate and business leader. She said that as part of a new generation of Democratic leadership not tied to the establishment, she is well-positioned to flip the 1st District.

Beggs said she has three policy priorities: affordability of everyday expenses such as food and energy, accountability for public officials she said have betrayed their oath to the Constitution, and the protection of fundamental rights, such as access to the ballot and to healthcare.

Beggs said she is confident that her priorities and messages will reach across party lines. She said some of the volunteers for her campaign are former Wittman and Trump voters. Her history of military leadership has given her the experience to lead and listen to all the voices of the constituency.

“Nobody is going to show up and work harder for them every day,” she said. “I know what it means to serve.”

Tim Cywinski, who lives in Chesterfield, is a policy advocate and community organizer who serves as communications director for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. He grew up with Wittman as his congressional representative and said the congressman represents “everything that’s wrong with our political culture.”

Cywinski said he shares some policy priorities with other Democrats seeking the nomination, such as affordable healthcare and protecting democracy. The difference, he said, is that he wants to “attack things at the source.”

Cywinski advocates for what he calls a “fair shot agenda,” which rests on three pillars: restoring representation and removing corporate money from politics, cutting taxes for a majority of American families while requiring the ultra-rich and corporations to pay more and building an economy that limits the power of corporate influence.

Salaam Bhatti is a Henrico County resident and public interest lawyer. As the son of immigrants who grew up poor, he said, he said he knows firsthand how public education and assistance can change the lives of working Virginians.

Bhatti served as deputy director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center and director of the Food Research & Action Center, and through these positions helped millions of people gain access to public benefits, which he said is being stripped away to give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.

Bhatti said three primary areas of his legislative focus would be Medicare for all, taxing billionaires and campaign finance reform. These are kitchen table issues that are mobilizing voters across the country, according to Bhatti.

Bhatti said he brings a dynamic, progressive choice to the ballot box that will push back against the current administration. “Yesterday’s centrism led to today’s fascism,” he said.

Shannon Taylor is the commonwealth’s attorney for Henrico County and has raised the most money among the seven Democratic candidates — some $1.3 million as of March 31, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Taylor said she’s best suited to run against Wittman in November because she has a history of victory in hard-to-win races, including four times in a majority-Republican county.

If she’s elected to Congress, Taylor said she will work to lower healthcare costs, remove blanket tariffs she said are harming farmers and consumers and rein in corruption by, among other actions, banning congressional stock trading.

“My message of taking on a broken and corrupt Washington will resonate in every corner of our district,” she said. “I’m the strongest candidate to beat Rob Wittman because I’ve been holding people accountable in the courtroom for 25 years, and that’s the same mentality I’ll bring with me to Washington to shake up a broken system.”

Also running for the Democratic nomination is Henrico County veteran and business lawyer Mell Tull. Tull has some 30 years of experience in corporate law and accounting but today runs his own small law practice. Tull’s campaign did not return messages seeking comment.

The Democratic primary will be held Aug. 4 with early voting starting on June 18.

Ben Swenson, [email protected]