As early voting for the 2026 midterm elections ramps up in Virginia, the commonwealth’s 1st Congressional District, where Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman is battling Democratic challenger Shannon Taylor, has been thrust into the spotlight as one of the most consequential races in the country, with the potential to shift control of the federal legislature. 

The largest portions of VA-01’s voter population are centered in Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, and James City counties. The district stretches from Westmoreland to Newport News and hooks around Richmond to the west.  

U.S. Census Bureau data shows the majority of residents there, nearly 72%, identify as White. About 13% are Black, 7% identify as multiracial, 6% are Asian and about 6% are Hispanic or Latino. 

Politically, the 1st District has traditionally leaned Republican, with over 615,000 registered voters living there. In 2024, President Donald Trump won the district with 51.6% and in 2021 former Gov. Glenn Youngkin won 57.8% of the vote.

That trend shifted last year, however, after Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger clinched 51% of the district’s vote, stoking her party’s hopes for a flip in the midterm races. 

National groups like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the district to their lists of “districts in play”. Taylor, a progressive candidate who is also Henrico County’s Commonwealth’s attorney, is aiming to force Wittman from the seat he’s held for two decades.

Wittman, vying for reelection, defends his record on healthcare

Wittman, based in Westmoreland, has held the seat since 2007. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee and Natural Resources Committee, reflecting his past employment at the Virginia Department of Health’s Division of Shellfish Sanitation. He also served as Mayor of Montross and one term in the Virginia House of Delegates before advancing to Congress.

The seasoned lawmaker’s healthcare policy stance has drawn increased scrutiny in recent months. 

Wittman was one of just 17 Republicans to support extending Affordable Care Act credits before ultimately voting to let the credits lapse at the end of last year. He also voted 60 times to undo the ACA throughout the years.

Wittman voted 60 times to undo the Affordable Care Act, then he backed extending its subsidies

He also supported H.R. 1, the spending bill Congress passed last summer which has led 300,000 Virginians to drop their insurance, and will change how hospitals are funded in the coming years. Analysts predict it could also shut out millions from social service programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

But Wittman said in an interview with the Mercury that the impacts of H.R. 1 are being misrepresented. 

“So there hasn’t been any change in qualification. If you qualify for Medicaid, you’re going to continue to get Medicaid. If you’re able to work, we want you to go to work,” Wittman said. “But if you’re deceased, if you’re collecting in two states, that’s defrauding the government. We’re going to stop that.”

He added that lawmakers “put $50 billion in this bill for rural hospitals,” in reference to the Rural Health Transformation Fund, a shared pot of money states may dip into to shore up the cost of maintaining healthcare facilities in rural areas. 

Virginia has received $192 million in RHTF awards, but some state healthcare leaders say it doesn’t do enough to address longstanding funding gaps, characterizing the RHTF as a “$50 billion plug for a $300 billion hole.”

Looking ahead, Wittman said there is still much he wants to accomplish on Capitol Hill if he’s re-elected. Among those goals: helping veterans, lowering costs, and passing a farm bill that could ease some of the strain levied on farmers by drought conditions, high gas prices and tariffs.

When asked how he responds to increased inflation under his party’s leadership, Wittman laid blame on the previous presidential administration’s energy policies and moves by Gov. Abigail Spanberger to curb carbon emissions by rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

“Those additional regulatory requirements that don’t provide any value to Virginia customers are driving costs as well as the additional regulations, the additional taxes that have been put in place by the Virginia General Assembly,” Wittman said.

Congress acknowledges that prices have risen and they are doing “everything that we can,” Wittman said. “We do have a plan, these bills that we pass, we believe, will have an impact on energy production which will bring down costs.” 

On data centers, a key driver of skyrocketing energy costs, Wittman said it should be up to the localities to determine if they want them. Counties and cities that choose to allow data centers to be built should require developers to pay for the infrastructure upgrades and energy generation needed for the facility, he said.

As of July 15th, Wittman’s campaign has raised over $4 million and he has the backing of President Donald Trump headed into November.

“They’re warriors,” Trump said at a Sept. 17 telerally promoting Virginia’s Republican congressional candidates. “It’s Rob Wittman, who you know, and Jen Kiggins, who you know, and John McGuire, and we’ve had tremendous success with the great Big, Beautiful Bill and all of the things that it represents, and tremendous tax cuts.” 

Taylor pitches fresh ideas to address inflation, energy demands

Taylor swept the district’s Democratic primary in August, beating out the crowded field of seven candidates with over 50% of the vote. 

She has spent the last 13 years as the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney, the first woman to hold the title and first Democrat in over 40 years to do the job. Taylor also ran for Attorney General in 2025 but lost in the primary to Jay Jones.

Taylor aims to rein in private equity in healthcare, restore Medicaid funding and ACA subsidies

In staunch contrast to her opponent, Taylor is focused on undoing the impacts of H.R. 1. 

If she’s elected, one of Taylor’s key priorities will be restoring funding for Medicaid and the ACA subsidies that were cut in the bill. She added that the $50 billion that Wittman highlighted for rural hospitals is still only a fraction of what H.R. 1 cut in total.

“It’s not true that it hasn’t changed anything because why do we have people who are already losing healthcare?
Why do we have clinics that are closing? Why do we have hospitals (closing) or (that) are cutting back on services? So he is not being honest about that,” Taylor said.

Concerning data centers and rising energy costs, Taylor said she firmly believes the data center industry should pay for the infrastructure upgrades that are needed only because of the rapid expansion of the digital warehouses. 

“We must start from the premise that Virginians should not be paying one dime more for energy or for water for what these data centers are operating on,” Taylor said. 

She said data center siting should ultimately remain a local decision, but “the citizens have every right to speak up, and if they don’t want them, they should not be…having them in their areas.” 

Taylor said spiking inflation is due to politicians of both parties “who take advantage of a corrupt D.C. that allows them to work, focus on their self-enrichment, and not focus on supporting policies and laws that are beneficial to their constituents.”

She said if Democrats are able to take control of the House, the legislature could block tariffs, reinstate Medicaid funding, and find a way to extricate America from the war in Iran, a conflict launched without congressional approval and which most Republicans, including Wittman, support and have voted to fund.

“The American people here in Virginia, here in my district, no one really believes that we had an idea of why we’re getting in (the war) and we now have no way out,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s campaign has raised over $2 million, about half of Wittman’s total.

Early voting is underway and Election Day is Nov. 3. Read The Mercury’s voter guide to learn more about the congressional candidates and stakes of the races. 

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