How To Use This Guide

1. Pick the issues you care about. Rank the two or three that matter most to you, such as health care, energy bills, data centers or ethics in Congress.
2. Find which office handles them. The U.S. House and U.S. Senate write federal law and set the federal budget, including Medicaid and Medicare funding, and the Senate also confirms federal judges and approves treaties. The three statewide questions would change the Virginia Constitution on reproductive rights, marriage and voting rights.
3. Compare the candidates. Read where each candidate stands on your top issues, then read the candidates’ own words and who funds each campaign.

The U.S. House Race

What This Office Does

U.S. House members serve two-year terms and vote on every federal law and the federal budget. All bills that raise taxes must start in the House. The 1st District runs from Colonial Beach down to Williamsburg, then reaches across northern Henrico County into part of Chesterfield County, and most of its residents live in Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover and James City counties, according to WYDaily. The district has more than 615,000 registered voters. ​

The Republican incumbent won the district by 13 points in 2024, according to VPM’s primary results report, but Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) carried it in the 2025 governor’s race, according to WTVR. Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics moved the race from Leans Republican to Toss-up, according to WTKR.

The district uses the same lines as in 2022 and 2024. Voters approved a redistricting amendment 52% to 48% on Tuesday, April 21. On Friday, May 8, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled 4 to 3 that the General Assembly broke the required process for putting the amendment on the ballot, and it ordered the state to keep its 2022 and 2024 congressional map, according to NPR.

Candidates In Brief

Republican Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) has represented the 1st District since 2007, according to Wittman’s House biography. Before Congress, Wittman spent 26 years in Virginia state government, most recently as field director of the Virginia Department of Health’s Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Wittman also served on the Montross Town Council (four years as mayor), the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and the House of Delegates. Wittman lives in Montross and won reelection in 2024 with 56.3% of the vote, according to Wittman’s Ballotpedia profile. The Republican primary was canceled, so Wittman advanced without a primary vote.

Democrat Shannon Taylor has been Henrico County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, the county’s top prosecutor, since first winning the office in 2011, and is the first woman to hold the post, according to WYDaily. Taylor has lived in Henrico for 30 years, according to Taylor’s answers to VPM’s candidate survey. Taylor graduated from the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond School of Law, according to Taylor’s Ballotpedia profile). Taylor lost the 2025 Democratic primary for attorney general to Jay Jones, 51.1% to 48.9%. Taylor then won the Tuesday, Aug. 4 Democratic primary for this seat with 53.0% of the vote over six candidates, with Salaam Bhatti second at 19.7%.

Where They Stand

Data centers and energy bills. Taylor says “No Virginian should pay a dime more for energy or water because of data centers” and wants localities to be able to turn down new data centers. Wittman says developers should “pay for the infrastructure upgrades and energy generation needed for the facility,” according to VPM’s summary of Wittman’s public statements. Wittman also blames energy costs and “red tape” for rising prices, according to VPM. Wittman says “We need to bring down energy prices,” according to an 8News interview with Wittman published by WAVY.

Health care and Medicaid. Taylor says “Rob Wittman has caused this crisis, having voted for the largest Medicaid cuts in history,” and opposes privatizing Medicare and Medicaid. Wittman defends the 2025 tax and spending law and says its Medicaid changes aim at “gathering resources where waste, fraud, and abuse is occurring.” Wittman says Wittman is “working to build a health care system that protects individuals with pre-existing conditions.”

Iran. Taylor says “Rob Wittman has allowed us to stumble into a directionless war that is costing American lives” and wants the war to end. Wittman says “The strategy of peace through strength works.”

Abortion. Taylor says “I stand firmly with a woman’s right to make choices about her own body.” Wittman says “I am 100% pro-life” and supports leaving abortion policy to the states.

Ethics in Congress. Taylor wants to ban members of Congress from trading stocks, impose a lifetime lobbying ban on former members and set term limits. Taylor also pledges “never to take a dime from corporate PACs.” Wittman says “Members of Congress were elected to serve their constituents, not their stock portfolios.”

Elections. Taylor says “I have full faith in Virginia’s election administrators to run a fair and accurate process.” Wittman supports the SAVE America Act, a Republican bill on voter eligibility rules.

In Their Own Words

Rob Wittman, on Medicaid work requirements, in the 8News interview published Wednesday, Sept. 9:

“Those numbers are for folks who should be in the workforce, and we want them to work.”

Shannon Taylor, in VPM’s candidate survey:

“No one should have to choose between paying rent, putting food on the table, or filling a prescription they need.”

Questionnaires And Debates

Taylor answered VPM’s candidate survey. Wittman did not respond, so VPM compiled Wittman’s positions from public statements, interviews and votes. Taylor completed Ballotpedia’s 2026 Candidate Connection survey and Wittman has not, according to Ballotpedia. Wittman also did not complete the Virginia Mercury’s candidate questionnaire, according to WYDaily. Wittman gave interviews to 8News in September and to WTKR in October.

Endorsements

Before the primary, President Donald Trump endorsed Wittman for reelection, according to the Washington Examiner’s endorsement tracker. Also before the primary, the International Franchise Association endorsed Wittman on Thursday, July 30, according to Franchising.com.

All of Taylor’s endorsements came before the primary:

Who Is Funding Them

These figures are Federal Election Commission (FEC) totals for the 2026 cycle, as shown on AllCiv’s Virginia 1st District race page as of Wednesday, Oct. 14. Wittman reported raising $5.4 million and spending $6.0 million, with $797,000 on hand. Taylor reported raising $4.6 million and spending $4.0 million, with $599,000 on hand.

AllCiv’s race page also shows $3.0 million in outside spending in the race. FEC filings list by name every donor who gives more than $200 in a cycle. Smaller gifts are reported only as a lump total.

The Incumbent’s Record

Wittman is vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee and chairs its Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. Wittman also serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. This Congress, Wittman has voted in 628 of 645 roll call votes and voted against most Republicans 11 times out of 592, according to AllCiv’s vote data. Wittman has cosponsored 246 bills, and bills Wittman sponsored drew 418 cosponsors, a total AllCiv ranks in the top quarter of the House.

Wittman supported the 2025 tax and spending law, known as H.R. 1, according to WYDaily. WYDaily also reports that Wittman was one of a few House Republicans who voted to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years. In 2021, Wittman voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill to create a federal right to provide and receive abortion care. It passed the House 218 to 211 on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, according to the House clerk’s roll call record.

Ads in the race have drawn fact-checks. A Wittman ad ties Taylor to Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice, a group Taylor co-founded in 2020. WAVY’s Truth Tracker found the group did push to defund police and that Taylor left it over that issue. Another Wittman ad faults a plea deal Taylor’s office reached in an abuse case at a Henrico hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. WWBT rated it “Mostly False or Misleading” because the family featured in the ad had twins in that unit about 20 years before the abuse, which happened from 2022 to 2024. The nurse pleaded no contest to nine felony charges, received the maximum three-year sentence and is barred from nursing.

A Taylor ad says Wittman became up to 40 times richer in Congress. WWBT rated it “Mostly True or Needs Context,” noting that disclosure forms list assets only in dollar ranges. WAVY could not confirm the figure, and Wittman told WTKR “I don’t believe that figure is correct.” WAVY did confirm Taylor’s claim that Wittman violated the STOCK Act: Wittman failed to report stock trades within the required 30 days in 2023. Wittman then stopped using the accountant involved.

Challengers’ Records

Taylor has led the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office since 2011 and has not held federal office. Court records show Taylor’s office has prosecuted at least 31 cases of financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, according to WWBT.

The U.S. Senate Race

What This Office Does

U.S. senators serve six-year terms and vote on every federal law and the federal budget. The Senate also confirms presidential nominees, including federal judges and Cabinet members, and approves treaties. In this race, the candidates have clashed most over the war in Iran, data centers and artificial intelligence.

Candidates In Brief

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is seeking a fourth term and says it would be Warner’s last, according to Radio IQ and WHRO. Warner helped assemble the investors who created Nextel, served as governor and was first elected to the Senate in 2008. Warner had no primary opponent.

Republican Bert Mizusawa is a West Point and Harvard Law School graduate who served in the U.S. Army from 1979 to 2016 and retired as a major general, according to Mizusawa’s Ballotpedia profile. Mizusawa has also run a contracting firm and a law practice, according to WJLA. Mizusawa won the Tuesday, Aug. 4 Republican primary with 51.5% of the vote over David Williams and Kim Farington, according to Ballotpedia’s Senate race overview.

Where They Stand

Iran. Warner calls the war “a fiasco of historic proportions” and expects Iran to “extract some kind of toll on the strait of Hormuz,” according to Cardinal News. Mizusawa supports the president’s actions and says “I think we have to trust the president on that account.”

Data centers. On data centers’ power and water use, Warner says “companies shouldn’t be able to hide those details behind secret deals.” Warner also wants data centers to “pay for the grid upgrades they require,” according to Warner’s answers to VPM’s candidate survey. Mizusawa says “data centers should not be put in any local community that doesn’t want it” and that localities “should have a veto right over them,” according to WSET. Mizusawa told Radio IQ “I would put them in remote locations.”

Artificial intelligence and jobs. Warner’s campaign says “Washington is largely unprepared for the coming AI jobs crisis.” The campaign wants artificial intelligence companies to pay a fair share of the energy demands they put on the grid, according to Warner’s campaign plan. Mizusawa says employers “should be held accountable for decisions made by AI systems,” according to WTKR’s report on a disability rights forum.

Cost of living and housing. Warner’s plan says the country is “3.7 million homes short” and calls for faster permitting and help for first-time buyers. Warner also says tariffs raise prices on everyday goods.

Health care. Warner supports universal health care and says the system “remains too expensive.” Mizusawa says Medicaid changes should strengthen the program while still supporting people with “legitimate needs.”

Energy, spending and debt. Mizusawa says “Nuclear power is clean, cheap, reliable and safe.” Mizusawa also makes reducing federal spending and the debt a priority and supports returning to a commodity-based money system such as the gold standard.

Elections. Mizusawa says election concerns can be addressed by “verifying voters while keeping the voting process accessible.” Warner says some policies could make voting by mail harder.

In Their Own Words

Mark Warner, per Radio IQ and WHRO:

“We need a vision to chart a new path, and effective leadership to get it done.”

Bert Mizusawa, per Radio IQ and WHRO:

“I don’t really want to run for Senate, I want to be in the Senate.”

Questionnaires And Debates

Warner answered VPM’s written candidate survey. Mizusawa did not, so VPM added answers from a Radio IQ interview with Mizusawa on Thursday, Oct. 22.

AARP Virginia and CBS 6 planned a debate for Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Richmond. Mizusawa had accepted, but the debate was canceled after Warner’s campaign said Warner could not commit, citing an “unsettled and expectedly busy official Senate calendar,” according to Cardinal News’ report on the canceled debate. The candidates gave back-to-back speeches at the Buena Vista Labor Day event and answered questions separately at a virtual forum hosted by disability advocacy groups.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia lists American Veterans Vote as an endorser of Mizusawa. Before the primary, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA)endorsed Mizusawa, according to the Northern Virginia Daily. Mizusawa says Mizusawa can work with Trump. Mizusawa was a foreign policy adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign and a member of Trump’s transition team.

Who Is Funding Them

These figures come from FEC reports for the 2026 cycle through Wednesday, Oct. 14, as compiled by Ballotpedia. Warner reported raising $27,493,348, spending $21,664,081 and holding $6,217,677 in cash. Mizusawa reported raising $1,141,130, spending $987,432 and holding $154,034.

Fellowship PAC reported $150,000 in spending supporting Warner. Ballotpedia lists no outside spending for Mizusawa.

The Incumbent’s Record

Warner is vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and ranking member of the Banking Committee’s Securities, Insurance and Investment Subcommittee. Warner also serves on the Budget, Finance, and Rules and Administration committees. Warner helped write the Affordable Care Act.

In the current Congress, Warner has voted in 831 of 869 roll-call votes and voted against a majority of Senate Democrats 77 times out of 820, according to Legis1 records. Warner voted against the 2025 tax and spending law. Mizusawa’s campaign says Warner “opposed cutting taxes on social security,” a reference to the law’s temporary $6,000 tax deduction for seniors.

Challengers’ Records

Mizusawa served as deputy under secretary of the Army, an appointed federal post, and as a senior adviser to the Central Intelligence Agency director. Mizusawa ran for Congress in Virginia’s 2nd District in 2010 and lost the Republican primary.

Scorecards Readers Can Check

Three groups grade both Wittman and Warner:

Each group picks different votes, so their ratings measure different things.

Also On Your Ballot

Every Virginia voter will see three proposed constitutional amendments. The General Assembly passed each one in two sessions, as the Virginia Constitution requires before a public vote. Each takes effect if a majority of voters approve it.

Question 1: Reproductive freedom. A Yes vote adds a right to make decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management and fertility care, and bars the state from penalizing patients or providers for those decisions. The state could regulate third-trimester abortion. It would still have to allow one when a doctor finds it necessary to protect the patient’s life or health, or when the pregnancy is not viable, according to the state’s official explanation of Question 1. A No vote leaves the constitution without an explicit reproductive rights provision. State Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax), the amendment’s sponsor, says it is “based on the current laws that we have on the books,” according to Cardinal News’ amendment guide. Former Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) is touring the state urging a No vote.

Question 2: Marriage. A Yes vote removes the 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and establishes a right for two adults to marry regardless of sex, gender or race. It also bars denying them a marriage license on those grounds, according to the state’s official explanation of Question 2. The ban has been unenforceable since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. A No vote keeps the ban in the constitution, where it could take effect again if that ruling were overturned. Former state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), who carried the amendment, says “It’s not a radical change.” Earle-Sears is campaigning against the measure and asks “Why include gender?” Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation, also opposes it, according to VPM’s Question 2 explainer.

Question 3: Voting rights. A Yes vote does three things, according to the state’s official explanation of Question 3:

  • It declares a fundamental right to vote.
  • It automatically restores voting rights to people convicted of felonies when they are released from prison.
  • It limits the loss of voting rights for people with mental disabilities to those a court finds do not understand the act of voting.

Today, only the governor can restore a person’s voting rights after a felony conviction. A No vote keeps the current rules. State Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria) says the amendment creates “a transparent, fair process that applies to everyone equally.” House Minority Leader Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott) says it “doesn’t serve justice” because rights would return before probation, fines and restitution are complete.

Before You Go

Still Ahead

  • Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and anyone in line by 7 p.m. may vote. You must vote at your assigned polling place, which you can find with the Virginia Department of Elections polling place lookup.
  • Same day registration: If you missed the registration deadline, you can register in person through Election Day and vote a provisional ballot, according to the state’s same day registration guide.
  • Mail ballots returned in person are due by 7 p.m. on Election Day at your general registrar’s office, a drop-off location or your polling place. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive by noon Friday, Nov. 6, according to the state’s absentee voting guide.
  • ID: Bring one of these photo IDs: a Virginia driver’s license or state ID, a U.S. passport, a military, student or employee photo ID, or a Virginia voter ID card. A utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document with your name and address also works. Without ID, you can sign an ID Confirmation Statement and vote a regular ballot, according to the state’s Election Day voting guide.
  • Questions: Call the Virginia Department of Elections at 800-552-9745, or call the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), per Election Protection’s Virginia guide.

Deadlines That Have Passed

  • Early voting ended Saturday, Oct. 31, at the local early voting sites.
  • Standard registration and mail ballot requests closed Friday, Oct. 23.
  • Emergency absentee ballot requests for hospitalization, illness or another emergency closed at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2.

Sources

AllCiv Profiles and Race Pages

Official Records

Candidate Statements and Questionnaires

News

Ballot Measures

Endorsements

Scorecards

Voting Information

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