Vangie Williams

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Vangie Williams

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 23, 2020

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Vangie Williams (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 1st Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2020.

Williams was a Democratic candidate for Virginia's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House. Williams lost the general election on November 6, 2018, after advancing from the primary on June 12, 2018.

Elections

2020

See also: Virginia's 1st Congressional District election, 2020

Virginia's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)

Virginia's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 1

Incumbent Robert J. Wittman defeated Qasim Rashid in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert J. Wittman (R)	58.1	260,614
		Qasim Rashid (D)	41.7	186,923
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	641

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 448,178
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Shawn Ponterio (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1

Qasim Rashid defeated Vangie Williams in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on June 23, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Qasim Rashid	52.5	21,625
		Vangie Williams	47.5	19,545

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,170
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Easley (D)
• Kevin Washington (D)
• Thomas Cox (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Robert J. Wittman advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1.

2018

See also: Virginia's 1st Congressional District election, 2018

General election

Incumbent Robert J. Wittman defeated Vangie Williams in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on November 6, 2018.

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 1

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert J. Wittman (R)	55.2	183,250
		Vangie Williams (D)	44.7	148,464
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	387

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 332,101
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Vangie Williams defeated Edwin Santana and John Suddarth in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on June 12, 2018.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vangie Williams	40.0	11,008
		Edwin Santana	32.9	9,059
		John Suddarth	27.1	7,471

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 27,538
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ryan Sawyers (D)

Republican primary election

Incumbent Robert J. "Rob" Wittman was the only candidate to file for the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1. Therefore, the Republican primary scheduled for June 12, 2018, was canceled.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Vangie Williams did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Campaign website

Williams' campaign website stated the following:

“	An Economy for Everyone Corporate profits should not take priority over the needs of hardworking Americans. We need to find pathways to create jobs and prosperity through education, transportation and innovation.	”
—Vangie Williams’ campaign website (2017)

“	Healthy Families Our healthcare system is broken just as surely as our political system is broken. I have spent almost my entire career solving problems within the government as a strategic program manager. The key to solving complex problems is to come up with basic principles and standards with which the process – and ultimately the solution – must respect and address. ​ First, common sense and basic human decency should dictate that multi-billion-dollar health care corporations should not profit based on whether you receive treatment or not—whether you live or die. Second, every American should, as a basic human right, have access to affordable healthcare. Third, we must embrace common sense and untie the hands of our own government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug costs for all Americans. ​ The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a monumental achievement because for the first time in American history our government addressed comprehensive healthcare reform. Through the ACA, millions of Americans gained unprecedented access to health insurance that was previously too expensive or otherwise unattainable. The ACA solidified that insurers can no longer deny coverage to vulnerable Americans because of pre-existing conditions, or issue policies with lifetime dollar limits on essential benefits. Unfortunately, there have also been problems. Seniors continue to struggle to afford necessary care and medications. Veterans struggle to get timely basic care, immediate urgent care, and consistent mental health care. For many, healthcare insurance remains unaffordable. Ultimately, no American should have to choose between being able to pay for housing and food, or pay for healthcare. To be honest – I don’t have all the answers when it comes to healthcare reform. What I do have is a strong moral compass, common sense principles, and the willingness to work with members of both parties on Capitol Hill to design a healthcare system which benefits EVERYONE. America needs a system that puts people before profits.	”
—Vangie Williams’ campaign website (2017)

“	Investing in Our Communities Our veterans, enlisted military families, security officers and teachers keep us safe and free, educate our children and do the jobs that make our everyday lives possible. But many of these people are underpaid, overworked and living in poverty. In the 1st District, we have three major military installations at Quantico, Dahlgren and Fort A.P. Hill and one-third of military families receive food assistance to feed their families. Veteran poverty is steadily rising, and we have a shortage of first responders and teachers that is hurting public safety and our education system. That’s why I’m proposing the Income Now for Veterans, Enlisted military families, Safety officers and Teachers (INVEST) tax initiative. These positions are critical to the fabric of our society but rely on public funding. Instead of using the tax code to benefit the wealthy, let’s use it to fix some of the serious problems facing our communities. My proposal is simple: Exempt the first $50,000 of earnings of federal income tax from INVESTers and give them an immediate boost of up to $6,000 a year in income. Pay the estimated $60 billion annual cost of this initiative by closing the loopholes from the alternative minimum tax that allows corporations and the wealthiest 1% to hide income. Use this measure as a first-step solution to give state legislatures, local jurisdictions and the federal government time to develop strategies to improve long-term compensation for teachers and school personnel, first responders, veterans and enlisted military families. INVESTers still pay Social Security, Medicare, state and local taxes, and premiums on healthcare and retirement plans. My proposal provides a much-needed income boost without costing local taxpayers an extra cent. Here’s how each INVESTer benefits from the initiative: Veterans In the past eight years, veteran poverty has increased 9%, where veterans between 18 and 34 years old have a higher poverty rate than all other age groups. Vets with disabilities and mental illnesses are more likely to be more food insecure and homeless than those experiencing the general systems that create poverty. After these brave servicemembers have put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, the least we can do is give them the economic security needed to live out their lives. Solution: INVEST will leverage the $50,000 federal tax income exemption to assist veterans and retired military members with additional income for cost of living expenses. Enlisted Military Families The people we ask to potentially sacrifice their lives to protect our freedom can’t feed their families. Approximately 35% of enlisted military families rely on food stamps and food banks to feed their families. Food banks and pantries are reporting an increase in military families – primarily young, junior-level service members with kids – showing up to their pantries for help. It’s also not uncommon for active military members to have a second job to make ends meet. This is unacceptable. Solution: INVEST will give lower ranking enlisted military families a short-term economic boost to increase access to affordable and nutritious food. Safety Officers Our first responders are under-resourced and overworked. Fire and police departments are having a hard time filling critical positions because of the ‘pay vs. risk calculation.’ Counties are also dealing with a high turnover rate with personnel leaving due to overtime, little benefits and long work commutes. The shortage of first responders put the people who do these difficult jobs at even more risk and injury, and they deserve to make a little more. Solution: INVEST will provide incentives for safety officers and first responders to recruit and retain talent to keep our communities safe. Teachers Our public education system is facing a critical teaching shortage. There are several reasons for the shortage including low salaries, licensure requirements and additional debt to obtain a complete a five-year program. Overall, there’s a 35% drop in graduates with education degrees, forcing schools to rely on substitutes and underqualified instructors teaching in areas they aren’t experts in. This leaves the next generation unprepared, unskilled and uninspired to be innovative leaders of the future. Investments in good teachers must become one of our highest priorities. Solution: INVEST will add, on average, another $300-450 every month to the paychecks of teachers and school personnel and make their positions more pay-competitive.	”
—Vangie Williams’ campaign website (2017)

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

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Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tim Kaine (D)

Mark Warner (D)

Representatives

District 1

Rob Wittman (R)

District 2

Jennifer Kiggans (R)

District 3

Bobby Scott (D)

District 4

Jennifer McClellan (D)

District 5

John McGuire (R)

District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline (R)

District 7

Eugene Vindman (D)

District 8

Donald Sternoff Beyer (D)

District 9

H. Morgan Griffith (R)

District 10

Suhas Subramanyam (D)

District 11

James Walkinshaw (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (5)