Taylor wins Democratic primary, will face longtime Republican incumbent Wittman

Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor won Virginia's First District Democratic primary in commanding fashion Tuesday, earning 53% of the vote to easily outdistance the six other candidates.

Public-interest lawyer Salaam Bhatti (19%) and Navy veteran Jason Knapp (10%) were the only other candidates to earn more than 7% of the vote in a race that pundits had expected Taylor to win.

Taylor, Henrico’s top prosecutor for the past 14 years, will face off against 20-year Republican Congressman Rob Wittman this November in one of the country’s most competitive races. The First District, which stretches from Western Chesterfield and Henrico to Virginia’s rural Northern Neck, has been labeled as America’s “median district” – split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats – by the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

Unsurprisingly, Taylor earned her largest amount of support from Western Henrico, which she won with 54% of the vote. Bhatti earned 22% of the Henrico vote, while Henrico businessman Mel Tull followed with 8%.

Taylor won almost all of Henrico’s 48 precincts, losing only three to Bhatti: Colonial Trail (Bhatti won with 44% compared to Taylor’s 35%), Jackson Davis (Bhatti earned 43% of the vote compared to Taylor’s 34%), and Pemberton (Bhatti won with 42% compared to Taylor’s 38%).

Despite rainy weather and early reports of low participation, this year’s First District Democratic primary saw more than double the turnout of the 2024 Democratic primary in both Henrico and the First District overall. The race was Virginia’s most crowded primary this year, with seven candidates: Taylor, Bhatti, Tull, Knapp, Army veteran Elizabeth Demsey-Beggs, environmental advocate Tim Cywinski, and lawyer Ericka Kopp.

At sparsely-populated voting precincts, Henrico’s Democratic voters said that despite hearing little publicity about the First District primary, they felt that the race was an important one when it came to limiting President Donald Trump’s control over the U.S. House as well as regional issues such as data centers.

Voters who supported Taylor cited her background as a prosecutor and her longtime experience in politics, saying she was the best candidate to go against Wittman in a district that is often labelled as “Leans Right.”

“[Taylor] has a long history of representing Virginians,” said Nickson, a voter in the Three Chopt District. “We just want [Wittman] out, because he’s getting rich from all the boys’ clubs he’s in.”

“Whatever goes against Trump is what I’m all for,” said another voter.

Many younger voters supported more progressive candidates such as Bhatti, citing issues such as Medicare cuts and data center expansions in Central Virginia. Some voters also criticized Taylor’s acceptance of nearly $800,000 in political funding from energy company Dominion Energy in 2025.

“I want to have a politician that listens to their constituents and isn’t bought out by big cash donors,” said Elizabeth, who voted for Bhatti. “I think that data centers are a large issue and [Bhatti] would be willing to address that issue. I think that Shannon Taylor would not. She’s bought and sold by corporations.”

This past month, Taylor also faced criticism from other candidates in the primary after finance records revealed that the Democratic Party of Virginia participated in a joint fundraising committee with Taylor. DPVA Chair Lamont Bagby said the party has remained neutral.

Taylor has said she has refused to take any donations from corporate PACs and wants to crack down on corruption by banning insider stock trading in Congress.

Jarrell Whitehead, who voted for Kopp, said that while he supported more progressive priorities such as cracking down on data centers, he felt that Taylor likely had the best shot at beating Wittman in the general election.

“The biggest concern of mine with the Democratic candidates was looking at all of them and thinking, well, do I think any of these people really have the hutzpah to go up against someone who’s experienced in the political arena?” Whitehead said. “I do think [Taylor] is the strongest because she has the most experience and she’s shown the will and determination to go against another strong candidate.”

Taylor was the first woman to become Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney when she flipped the longtime Republican-held seat in 2011. She also ran for the Democratic nomination for Virginia Attorney General in 2025 but lost to Jay Jones.

Wittman is seeking his 10th term in Congress this year. During the 20 years he has held the First District seat, Wittman has never lost a race.

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.