Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor has entered the race for the 1st Congressional District seat.

The 2026 race is proving to be a crowded field. Nine other Democrats are running, as is incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, who has held the position since 2007.

The 1st District includes parts of Henrico as well as James City County, York County and Williamsburg.

Earlier this year, Taylor ran for Virginia attorney general, but narrowly lost in the Democratic primary to former Del. Jay Jones.

“Nothing has changed,” Taylor said in an interview. “It is still the same desire. There is still a need to protect the Virginians of the First Congressional District from acts like Rob Wittman voting for this disastrous budget bill.”

Wittman voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, though he initially signed on to a letter to House leadership expressing concerns about cuts to Medicaid. And Democrats think that vote might make Wittman’s seat more vulnerable in the 2026 Congressional midterms.

“(Wittman) has come to represent everything that’s wrong with DC politicians, and he has made himself uniquely vulnerable by rubberstamping a politically toxic agenda that is only making life harder for working families,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Eli Cousin.

The First Congressional District has historically leaned Republican and Wittman bested Democratic challenger Leslie Mehta with 56% of the vote last year. President Donald Trump won the district by a margin of 4.8% in 2024, compared to a margin of 13.1% in 2016.

Taylor said her time on the campaign trail for attorney general leading up to June’s primary offered her name recognition and the opportunity to engage with voters, including in those in the 1st District.

“What we’re talking about is having a candidate like myself, who is a proven winner, a proven leader, who has strong name ID because of what I was just doing for the last six plus months,” she said. “I’m a known entity, and so with that established relationship, and folks who know that when I say that I’m going to do something I follow through on it, I think it is that level of comfort that voters can get behind a candidate.”

Taylor also has the backing of Democrats like U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.

“Since 2012, Shannon has worked to keep the residents of Henrico safe by prosecuting murders, drug dealers, and fraudsters, and standing up for victims and their families,” Kaine said in a statement. “As a friend of Shannon’s for more than 15 years, I’m proud to endorse her as she runs to serve as an independent leader in Congress for her community.”

Others who have already announced their candidacy in the race are Timothy Cywinski, Sean Sublette, Ericka Kopp, Ata-Ul-Salaam Bhatti, James Michael Shea, Andrew Lucchetti, Melvin Tull, Lisa Khanna and Amanda Pohl.

Kate Seltzer, kate.seltzer@virginiamedia.com, (757)713-7881

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/09/08/shannon-taylor-enters-race/