A Democratic prosecutor narrowly toppled Representative Rob Wittman, a Republican first elected in 2007, on Thursday, according to The Associated Press, as a tsunami of voter anger reached his Virginia district.
Shannon Taylor, the winner, ran on her long record as the top prosecutor in Henrico County, in the Richmond suburbs. She accused Mr. Wittman of having profited from stock trading and from tax breaks that he voted for, centering her campaign on a fight against corruption and entrenched “Washington insiders.” (Mr. Wittman vehemently denied the claims.)
Mr. Wittman kept the margins close, even as many Republicans in districts that President Trump narrowly won fell by large margins. On the campaign trail, he leaned on his deep familiarity with the district and promoted the investments he had secured during his nearly two decades in office.
The Democratic establishment viewed her as a star recruit, and she easily cleared the primary field. During her campaign, she also built on the name recognition she had established during an unsuccessful run for state attorney general in 2025.
The congressional district, Virginia’s First, stretches from the Richmond suburbs to the so-called Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg, and out to the Tidewater region on the state’s eastern shore.
Mr. Trump won the district by five percentage points in 2024, but Ms. Taylor’s victory signals it might be moving to the left. In her campaign, Ms. Taylor worked to tie cost-of-living increases to Mr. Trump’s policies.
Ms. Taylor’s victory came even after a costly redistricting plan meant to benefit her and other Democratic candidates fell through. The state Supreme Court blocked the voter-approved map in May.
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