Taylor unseats Wittman in congressional victory, fueled by overwhelming Henrico support

Democrat Shannon Taylor defeated longtime Republican Congressman Rob Wittman Tuesday in Virginia's First Congressional District, overcoming the incumbent's support in more conservative portions of the district with an overwhelming performance in Henrico County.

The Associated Press called the race for Taylor, who had received 51% of the vote (nearly 205,000 votes) to Wittman's 49% (just more than 197,000) at 11 p.m. with 97% of votes counted, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections.

But in Henrico, where Taylor has served as commonwealth's attorney since 2012, the contest wasn't nearly as close.

Taylor carried 46 of the 48 Henrico precincts participating in the congressional election, receiving 55,397 votes to Wittman's 32,891. Her 22,506-vote advantage in Henrico was nearly three times her eventual districtwide margin.

The victory was a significant one for Taylor, who defeated a nine-term incumbent in a district Wittman had represented since 2007. Wittman won reelection by nearly 13 percentage points in 2024, but the district became one of the nation's most closely watched congressional battlegrounds this year.

In her victory speech, flanked by both her husband and her mother, Taylor emphasized her agenda to fight against insider stock trading and pass term limits in Congress.

“Nearly a year ago, we launched this campaign because our community, our commonwealth, our country, had fallen victim to the actions of a corrupt and unaccountable Washington,” Taylor said. “And if either party or the powerful special interests in Washington think that they can intimidate me for put a stop to our shared mission. Well, they haven't been paying attention, have they?”

Taylor highlighted Spanberger’s win back in 2018 in the Seventh District (when then included Henrico's West End) as an inspiration for her own fight to flip the First District.

“We remember when she made history and flipped a seat right here in Henrico County,” Taylor said. “That upset no one saw that one coming either, Governor. Her race showed me that this was possible.

“Tomorrow we're taking this fight to Washington, and I want every family across this district to hear me when I say this. I know what it means to take on the toughest fights. I know what it means to stand up to those who are powerful. I know what it takes to win. Thank you, Virginia. We are just getting started.”

Taylor also said that on day one of her term in Congress, she would focus on lowering prices by getting rid of “illegal tariffs.”

She said that she had not yet heard from Wittman following her win.

An anxious wait for Chesterfield

Earlier Tuesday night, as Democrats celebrated gains elsewhere in the country, attendees at Taylor's election-night gathering in Innsbrook nervously watched the results on a large screen, knowing their candidate's contest could be decided by a relatively small number of votes.

At approximately 9:30 p.m., about 17% of the districtwide vote remained outstanding, much of it from western Chesterfield County, a populous and politically competitive portion of the district.

"I know it's going to be a long night, but we need to just hang in there and make sure that we count every vote," Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (Fourth District) told those gathered. McClellan earlier had claimed victory in her own race, defeating Republican Robert Murray 69% to 29%, with incumben Joan Bell claiming 1% of the vote. "We're going to make sure that every vote is counted, and Chesterfield is going to give us the victory."

At one point, with fewer than half of Chesterfield's votes counted, Taylor held a districtwide lead of less than one percentage point.

Holly Waters, Taylor's cousin and a resident of Chesterfield's Bon Air area, said she was nervous about the results but encouraged by the turnout she had witnessed at her polling place.

"I was shocked," Waters said. "I walked to the place where I vote, which is the Bon Air Methodist Church, and I was surprised to see [I] had to wait in line, which I never do."

Waters said she believed her cousin could have an even bigger political future.

"She's a great fighter for us," she said. "And I think she could actually make it all the way to governor."

After Taylor's victory, Elizabeth Dempsey-Beggs (who had been among the other Democrats to seek the party's nomination for the First District seat), said the evening's results created "an ecstatic night for not just Democrats but Americans everywhere. We are showing that the country is healing, that Shannon was able to take a victory here against a candidate who is a 19-year incumbent and yet refuses to show up for his constituents and harm his constituents. It just feels incredible, especially as a mom of four young kids here, knowing that we have someone representing this district now who I know will actually fight for my family and for the most of our population.”

Closer to 10 p.m., Taylor's share of the districtwide vote reached 50.15%, with approximately 93% counted. The tension among her supporters began to ease.

Henrico resident Ashley Lohman said the wait brought back memories of Democrat Abigail Spanberger's narrow congressional victory in 2018, when late-arriving Chesterfield votes helped push her past Republican incumbent Dave Brat.

"It was neck and neck like this, where it could have gone either way. We were waiting on Chesterfield," Lohman said. "We waited, and it was very late. And finally, Chesterfield all came in. Chesterfield put her over the top. That's what we're doing tonight."

Spanberger's husband, Adam, also saw similarities between the two elections.

"It certainly had similar things, of swinging a district from 15 points two years ago to winning by one or two," he said. "[Chesterfield] is certainly swinging more blue, and it has in every election."

Taylor dominates Henrico

While Taylor's districtwide victory was narrow, her performance in Henrico reflected the extent of the county's political transformation during the past decade.

She won every participating precinct in the Brookland, Fairfield and Three Chopt magisterial districts, along with 17 of the 19 precincts in the Tuckahoe district.

Wittman's only Henrico victories came in Mooreland and Tuckahoe, both in the Tuckahoe magisterial district.

In Mooreland, Wittman received 709 votes to Taylor's 547, winning by nearly 13 percentage points. In the Tuckahoe precinct, he received 1,484 votes to Taylor's 1,361, a margin of just 123 votes.

Taylor's largest percentage victories came in Greenwood, where she defeated Wittman 542 to 57, and Randolph, where she won 204 to 35.

Yellow Tavern delivered her largest numerical advantage of any Henrico precinct, with 2,180 votes to Wittman's 700 — a margin of 1,480 votes.

She also won Tucker by 1,321 votes and Longdale by 1,197. Together, those three precincts accounted for nearly 4,000 votes of her countywide advantage.

In western Henrico, Taylor carried Innsbrook by 763 votes, Short Pump by 531, Shady Grove by 488, Nuckols Farm by 439 and Three Chopt by 310.

Even in several relatively competitive precincts, Taylor prevailed. She won Derbyshire by 78 votes, Hunton by 49 and Lakewood by 160.

Her narrowest percentage victory came in Derbyshire, where she received 818 votes to Wittman's 740, a margin of just over five percentage points.

The results were especially striking given Henrico's political history. For decades, Republicans were competitive throughout much of the county, particularly in its western suburbs. But Democrats have steadily expanded their strength there.

Melissa Dart, a Henrico resident attending Taylor's gathering, credited Taylor's first election as commonwealth's attorney in 2011 as an important turning point.

"Shannon was the first domino to fall in Henrico," Dart said. "Henrico demographically and politically is totally different than it was when this started. Slowly but surely we were moving the needle. We've been moving it ever since."

Del. Rodney Willett echoed that sentiment as local Democratic elected officials gathered on stage.

"I just want everyone to take a look at the stage, which we can barely fit on," Willett said. "This was not the case not that many years ago in terms of the Democratic representation in this area."

He credited Taylor with helping launch the county's political shift.

"Shannon Taylor, she was really the person who started that wave and changing things here in Henrico County from one side to the other," Willett said.

Voters focused on Trump, affordability and public safety

Interviews by the Citizen with Henrico voters Tuesday suggested that the congressional race was shaped by a combination of national political concerns and opinions about the candidates themselves.

Some voters said their support for Taylor was driven less by enthusiasm for her candidacy than by opposition to President Donald Trump and Wittman's support for his administration.

"I've voted for Wittman in the past, but I'm tired of the rubber stamping of Trump actions," said Kevin Jonas, who described his voting choices as largely anti-incumbent.

"I'm not really a huge fan [of Taylor], but I figured we can vote her out later. But Trump needs to be checked."

Jacob Sherrod, another Democratic voter, expressed reservations about Taylor's political positions but said he supported her nonetheless.

"I voted for Shannon Taylor despite the Israel thing," Sherrod said. "I don't think Rob Wittman was the most horrible Republican to have. But I'm a Democrat. I wish she was a little bit more progressive."

Other voters cited the economy and social issues.

"I think affordability is a big one, the price of gas and everything else," said Glen Allen voter Ravi Padna. "Also voting issues and women's rights, like abortion rights."

Republican voters also identified affordability as a major concern, along with crime, public safety and the direction of the federal government.

"I'm concerned about the balance of the Congress, and I wanted to vote for the Republican," said a voter who identified himself as Jim.

Another voter, Melissa, said she generally supported Republicans because of concerns about Democratic policies.

"Republican is just typically how I go," she said. "I'm not big on the Democrats and how they have been doing things. Crime, safety, and just the overall cost of things."

At the Hunton precinct, a Wittman voter criticized Taylor's record as a prosecutor, arguing that her approach to criminal justice was too lenient.

"Soft on crime does not work," he said. "Just more crime, and that's just the truth."

Wittman supporters defend his record

At Wittman's election-night gathering, supporters emphasized his experience, constituent services and attention to military affairs.

David Botkins, a member of the Republican Party of Virginia's state committee representing the First Congressional District, rejected the idea that the contest should be viewed primarily as a referendum on Trump.

"I think if you're looking at everything through a national prism, it would be logical to say that midterms often are connected one way or another to who's in the White House," Botkins said. "But I think this is a very local First Congressional District race with First Congressional District issues."

Botkins pointed to Wittman's service on the House Armed Services Committee and his office's assistance with veterans' benefits, Social Security, passports and other federal matters.

"I think his constituent service record is second to none as a Congressperson," he said.

Col. Neil Thompson, a Henrico Republican who said he served as an election officer at Innsbrook, expressed frustration with Republican turnout.

"We Republicans didn't get the young people out. The Democrats did," Thompson said.

Thompson also expressed concern that some voters did not understand the constitutional amendments on the ballot, saying election officers encountered questions about their wording.

John Reid, a lifelong Henrico resident and former Republican lieutenant governor candidate, said he had appeared at campaign events on Wittman's behalf and remained hopeful during the evening that the incumbent would prevail.

Reid described Wittman as thoughtful and willing to engage with people who disagreed with him.

He said affordability was a recurring concern among voters he encountered at seven precincts across Henrico and neighboring counties.

"What are we going to do about the gas prices?" Reid said, describing a common question.

But Reid also acknowledged that Trump's influence could hurt Republican candidates, even among voters who might otherwise support them.

"There are a lot of people who just love Donald Trump. There are a lot of people who hate him," Reid said. "And anybody who has an 'R' behind their name benefits from the Trump lovers and gets hurt by the people who just despise him completely."

Reid said he had encountered voters during his own campaign who told him they would not vote for a Republican while Trump was president, regardless of their opinions of the individual candidate.

"That's political reality," he said. "It's very tribal."

Susan Cohen, another Henrico Republican attending Wittman's gathering, criticized Taylor's campaign advertising and said concerns about law enforcement influenced some voters.

She also acknowledged the president's dominant role in the political conversation.

"Some people, they just hate Trump," Cohen said. "Doesn't matter. They hate Trump."

A decisive county in a closely divided district

Ultimately, Taylor's victory reflected the combination of a substantial Democratic advantage in Henrico and enough support elsewhere in the district to overcome Wittman's traditional Republican base.

Her 22,506-vote margin in Henrico alone was substantially larger than her 7,841-vote districtwide advantage.

That disparity illustrated both the importance of Henrico to the outcome and the political changes that have reshaped the county since Taylor first won local office.

For Democrats gathered at her election-night celebration, the result represented another milestone in a transformation they have watched unfold for more than a decade.

For Republicans, it marked the loss of a congressional seat that Wittman had held for nearly 19 years — and another indication of the challenges the party faces in Richmond's changing suburbs.