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Virginia's 1st Congressional District election, 2026
U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Special state legislative • All local elections by county • How to run for office |
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← 2024
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| Virginia's 1st Congressional District |
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| General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: Pending |
| Primary: June 16, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
6 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Lean Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th Virginia elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
All U.S. House districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Virginia, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 1
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Robert J. Wittman (R) | ||
Elizabeth Beggs (D) ![]() | ||
Salaam Bhatti (D) ![]() | ||
| Tim Cywinski (D) | ||
| Lisa Khanna (D) | ||
| Jason Knapp (D) | ||
Ericka Kopp (D) ![]() | ||
| Andrew Lucchetti (D) | ||
| Amanda Pohl (D) | ||
| James Shea (D) | ||
| Sean Sublette (D) | ||
| Shannon Taylor (D) | ||
| Melvin Tull (D) | ||
= 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. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I’m a healthcare lawyer and a caregiver for a disabled combat veteran. I’m a first-generation American, college student, and the first lawyer ever in my family. I played hockey for 19 years and know how to drop the gloves. In Congress, I will fight for the rights of my community here in Virginia’s first district. It’s not about left or right; it’s about right and wrong. And what’s happening now is simply wrong. I will not stand for the continued degradation of our rights, institutions, and our nation. I am about people over partisan politics and defending democracy over accepting a fascist oligarchy. I have already taken an oath to defend the Constitution. I do this in practice already and will continue to do so at the congressional level for We the People."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Virginia
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Elizabeth Beggs (D)
Families across Virginia are being pushed to the breaking point by rising costs of housing, groceries, childcare, healthcare, and everyday essentials. As a New Deal Democrat, I believe we must build an economy that works for working families—not just corporations and billionaires. That means lowering costs, raising wages, expanding childcare, reducing prescription drug prices, and ensuring the wealthiest pay their fair share. Every Virginian deserves stability, opportunity, and a fair shot at building a better future.
I will fight to protect personal freedoms—including reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ equality—because government should never interfere in private medical decisions or adult relationships. As a gun owner and the daughter of a retired police officer and criminal justice professor, I believe in safe, fair, and community-focused public safety. That includes common-sense gun laws, criminal justice reform, supporting law enforcement training, investing in mental health and addiction treatment, and addressing the root causes of crime. Safer communities come from opportunity, fairness, and accountability—not fear.
Salaam Bhatti (D)
Fighting for Working Families. Everything is increasing in cost and our wages are not keeping up. Meanwhile, the wealth inequality gap continues to increase. The time is now to fight for families by passing Medicare for All, strengthening our safety net and making it truly efficient, and providing paid parental leave & living wages.
Rebuild trust. We cannot trust our elected officials to act in the people's interests if they're voting to maintain campaign funding from corporations/foreign interests, or if they're using information to increase their net worth. This is why I support banning Congressmembers from trading stocks, getting corporate PAC and foreign interest money out of politics, and ending the genocide in Gaza.
Ericka Kopp (D)
Veterans issues. Veterans put their lives on the line to serve this country. We need to reduce the senseless barriers to accessing veterans benefits. As a congressional established agency, Congress can, and must, act to address the critical staffing shortages at VA.
Federally codifying rights. Never before has it been more important the fact that federal law acts as a floor when it comes to minimum rights. We can work together to protect people by enacting into law a woman’s right to make decisions about her own healthcare and same-sex marriage.
Elizabeth Beggs (D)
Salaam Bhatti (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Another was from a longtime friend. He is married to an immigrant. His brother is disabled and receives Medicaid. He’s devastated because his brother could very well lose everything because of the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” There’s nothing beautiful about a billionaire benefiting from a bill that destroys the only means of life some people in this country. There’s nothing beautiful about the greatest upward transfer of wealth in American history.
These are the voices not being heard by our current representative. These are the people who supposedly have representation but matter less to our representative than billionaires.Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Salaam Bhatti (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
Ericka Kopp (D)
You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert J. Wittman | Republican Party | $1,865,128 | $488,003 | $2,753,005 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Elizabeth Beggs | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Salaam Bhatti | Democratic Party | $103,673 | $23,062 | $80,611 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Tim Cywinski | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Lisa Khanna | Democratic Party | $266,010 | $144,258 | $121,752 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Jason Knapp | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Ericka Kopp | Democratic Party | $1,612 | $644 | $969 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Andrew Lucchetti | Democratic Party | $57,728 | $57,728 | $0 | As of August 22, 2025 |
| Amanda Pohl | Democratic Party | $50,900 | $36,688 | $14,212 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| James Shea | Democratic Party | $2,660 | $118 | $2,542 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Sean Sublette | Democratic Party | $66,111 | $66,111 | $0 | As of December 8, 2025 |
| Shannon Taylor | Democratic Party | $362,408 | $35,754 | $326,654 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Melvin Tull | Democratic Party | $92,358 | $57,017 | $35,341 | As of September 30, 2025 |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Virginia's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 12/23/2025 | 12/16/2025 | 12/9/2025 | 12/2/2025 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Pending | Pending | Pending | Pending | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Virginia in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Virginia, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Virginia | U.S. House | Ballot-qualified party | 1,000 | $3,480 | TBD | Source |
| Virginia | U.S. House | Unaffiliated | 1,000 | N/A | TBD | Source |
District history
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.
General election
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 1
Incumbent Robert J. Wittman (R) defeated Leslie Mehta (D) in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert J. Wittman (R) | 56.3 | 269,657 |
| | Leslie Mehta (D) ![]() | 43.5 | 208,445 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2% | 804 | ||
| Total votes: 478,906 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1
Leslie Mehta (D) defeated Herb Jones (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on June 18, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Leslie Mehta ![]() | 66.6 | 15,253 |
| | Herb Jones | 33.4 | 7,653 | |
| Total votes: 22,906 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for June 18, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent Robert J. Wittman (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1 without appearing on the ballot.
General election
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 1
Incumbent Robert J. Wittman (R) defeated Herb Jones (D) and David Bruce Foster (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert J. Wittman (R) ![]() | 56.0 | 191,828 |
| | Herb Jones (D) ![]() | 43.0 | 147,229 | |
| | David Bruce Foster (Independent) ![]() | 1.0 | 3,388 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1% | 293 | ||
| Total votes: 342,738 | ||||
= 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
- Austin Nichols (Independent)
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary scheduled for June 21, 2022, was canceled. Herb Jones (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1 without appearing on the ballot.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jessica Anderson (D)
- Jim Gehlsen (D)
- Stewart Navarre (D)
Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for June 21, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Robert J. Wittman (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1 without appearing on the ballot.
General election
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 1
Incumbent Robert J. Wittman (R) defeated Qasim Rashid (D) 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 | ||
| Total votes: 448,178 | ||||
= 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
- Shawn Ponterio (Independent)
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1
Qasim Rashid (D) defeated Vangie Williams (D) 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 | |
| Total votes: 41,170 | ||||
= 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
- Thomas Cox (D)
- John Easley (D)
- Kevin Washington (D)
Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for June 23, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent Robert J. Wittman (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 1 without appearing on the ballot.
District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Virginia's 1st the 202nd most Republican district nationally.[5]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.
| Kamala Harris |
Donald Trump |
|---|---|
| 47.0% | 52.0% |
Presidential voting history
- See also: Presidential election in Virginia, 2024
Virginia presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 18 Democratic wins
- 14 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D |
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Virginia's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Virginia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Republican | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 11 | 13 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Virginia's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Secretary of State | |
| Attorney General |
State legislature
Virginia State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 21 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | |
Virginia House of Delegates
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 51 | |
| Republican Party | 48 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Trifecta control
Virginia Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | D |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
