HAYES, Va. — U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman may have spent nearly two decades in Congress, but the Republican is emphasizing the humbler parts of his resume while running for another term this year. His advertisements talk about his work in a tomato cannery and on a fishing boat, and how he commutes to Washington from the same modest home in rural Virginia where he's lived with his wife since 1985.
It's a far different image than the one his Democratic opponent, local prosecutor Shannon Taylor, has been painting for voters in the red-leaning district. She says Wittman is “too busy getting rich" by trading stocks in companies he's supposed to regulate, a characterization he says is false.
Taylor's campaign is one of many that's embracing an anti-corruption message in a midterm year that's otherwise defined by high gas prices, persistent inflation and sinking confidence in the economy. With so much frustration over the cost of living, candidates see an opportunity to argue that incumbents are more interested in looking out for themselves or donors than their constituents. For some Democrats, it's also an indirect way to remind voters of controversies surrounding President Donald Trump's family business interests.
At a recent news conference on the U.S. Capitol steps, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said, "Anyone who is stealing from the American people, shortchanging the American people, or screwing over the American people, you are now on notice.”
An AP-NORC poll conducted in September found that registered voters nationally are more likely to describe Republicans than Democrats as corrupt. About half said "corrupt" describes Republicans "extremely" or "very" well, compared to a third who said the same about Democrats.
Virginia’s 1st Congressional District will present one of this year's starkest tests for Democratic attempts to turn their message into a winning campaign issue, as Taylor tries to overcome Wittman's deep experience and down-to-earth reputation with allegations of greed.
Democrats eye a flip for the first time in decades
The district hasn't been represented by a Democrat since the late 1970s but is now part of the party's push to flip control of the U.S. House. Trump won it by about 5 percentage points two years ago, but Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger took it by nearly 3 points last year.
Money is gushing in. Wittman — who could lead his chamber’s Armed Services Committee if Republicans hold the House — raised about $4 million to Taylor’s $2.1 million in the most recent reporting period. But Taylor has received far more support from outside groups than Wittman, and they’ve spent nearly $5 million on her behalf, with the vast majority of the money attacking Wittman, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.
In an interview, Wittman called Taylor “a liar” who has misrepresented the ranges and estimates in his financial disclosures, which don't give a precise accounting of his net worth. Those records do make clear Wittman’s reported assets and individual stock holdings — he has dozens in companies with interests before Congress — have grown substantially during his time in office.
But Wittman said that's mostly because of inheritances he and his wife received after their parents died. His campaign said he has not used nonpublic information to make investing decisions and doesn't personally select his stock holdings, which are managed by outside advisers. It also noted that he's voted for a bill to limit stock trading.
Wittman said he understands voters' concerns about the cost of living and argued Taylor wouldn't help fix the problem.
He said Republicans have addressed affordability issues through tax relief included in Trump's " big beautiful bill." Wittman also said he's "not the biggest fan" of Trump's tariffs, which he believes have sometimes driven up costs.
"I hope this election is about ideas, about what are the solutions to the problems, and acknowledging that those problems are there," said Wittman, who's been endorsed by Trump and has criticized Taylor's record as soft on crime.
Taylor, the top elected prosecutor in a suburban Richmond’s Henrico County, pledges to support a stock trading ban, term limits — something Wittman argued isn't necessary — and a lifetime ban on members of Congress becoming lobbyists.
“Politicians in both parties are cheating the system, getting rich by trading stock while getting information only they have. Personally profiting when corporations rip us off,” Taylor said in one television advertisement.
Wittman has deep ties to the district
Bruce and Mary Halliburton, a retired married couple from Henrico County who are self-described independents, said Taylor's message has resonated.
“He’s earned enough money,” Bruce Halliburton said of Wittman after the couple voted early for Taylor.
But voters in Gloucester County, a Republican stronghold, defended Wittman as a hard worker who knows the district, and they rejected Taylor's corruption accusations.
“That's a crock of lies against the man,” said Michael Greene, who sells oysters, fish and crabs at his nearby J&M Seafood Shack.
Greene said Wittman greeted him by name when the two ran into each other in late September at the Guinea Jubilee, a community festival celebrating the area's maritime heritage.
It's those kinds of ties that could help insulate Wittman from Taylor's criticisms. In fact, he's never had a close race, winning by at least 10 points in every reelection campaign.
About half of the district’s population lives in the counties surrounding Virginia’s capital city, Richmond, while the rest is comprised of smaller, more rural counties that hug the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers that flow into it.
As Wittman walked around the Guinea Jubilee, he was stopped over and over again with requests to pose for photos. One man said he’d met Wittman at a different festival. Another had run into him during a church visit. A pastor knew him from his time working in the district’s shipyards, where Wittman would visit. A child, cellphone in hand, interrupted an interview to ask Wittman to chime in on a video call.
Taylor campaigned at the same event, where she enjoyed a crab cake and talked to vendors about the impacts of Trump's tariffs.
She easily won her primary earlier this year and defeated a Republican incumbent when she was first elected in 2011 as a prosecutor.
Last year, Taylor unsuccessfully ran for attorney general. She took corporate donations in that race but in this one isn't accepting corporate PAC dollars, something she said in an interview is the result of listening to voters “upset about what they see as corporate and special interest influence.”
Candidates across the US harness a similar message
Allegations about corruption and self-dealing have echoed around the country this year on both sides of the aisle.
"I've had enough of self-serving politicians who keep getting richer at our expense," said Democratic candidate Jamie Ager, a farmer running for an open North Carolina U.S. House seat where Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards dropped his reelection bid after an ethics investigation into improper conduct with female staff.
Rebecca Bennett, a Democratic congressional candidate in New Jersey, has criticized Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. over stock trading disclosures during a four-month absence from Congress. Kean didn't disclose his hospitalization for depression until he returned to Washington, and he said it was financial advisers, not him, trading the stocks.
It's also a major theme in Virginia's adjacent 2nd Congressional District, a closely watched battleground where Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans is trying to stop a comeback attempt from Democratic former Rep. Elaine Luria.
Kiggans has hammered Luria for stock trades and her previous opposition to a ban on stock trading by members of Congress. Luria has since reversed herself and said lawmakers can “set an example by not owning or trading individual stocks.”
“People are tired of that type of corruption in Washington,” Kiggans said.
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Associated Press journalists Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pa., and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
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