The following is an online extra from the May issue of Richmond magazine, on newsstands now.
Incumbent congressmen Donald McEachin (D-4th District) and Rob Wittman (R-1st District) face challenges from opposing-party candidates who are running in the June primaries to appear on the November ballot.
A Contrast in the 4th District
Donald McEachin
Shion Fenty, a small business owner and nonprofit volunteer, and Ryan McAdams, a pastor and state director of the Virginia Prayer Caucus, are seeking the Republican nomination in Virginia’s 4th District on June 12.
Previously represented by Republican J. Randy Forbes, the district shifted before the 2016 elections to include much of the Richmond area as part of a court-ordered redrawing of the 3rd congressional district. It now stretches south and east from Richmond’s North Side to the Virginia/North Carolina line.
The redistricting allowed McEachin to take the seat in 2016 with 57.7 percent of the vote. Democrat Hillary Clinton won 58 percent of the district’s votes in the last presidential election, and Ralph Northam claimed 62 percent of the vote in the 2017 governor's race.
“The national trend is going against Republicans and towards Democrats,” says Richard Meagher, political science associate professor at Randolph-Macon College. “So McEachin would have already been a relatively strong incumbent for a first-time defender of his seat, but I think in this year, particularly, he has all of the advantages.”
Shion Fenty
The 4th District’s political shift didn’t dissuade Fenty, who found her passion to make change in working with kids from troubled communities. She says she hopes to bolster after-school initiatives between civic groups, churches and community groups.
“It hit me as to why we have so many failing schools in the 4th District. It’s not the teachers, it’s not the staff, it’s not the curriculum. It is straight-up the communities that these kids are coming from,” says Fenty. The daughter of Guyanese immigrants, she was born in New York City and lives in Chesterfield County.
As a millennial and a woman of color, Fenty, 37, says she is in tune with the district.
“I understand where our district is going and what is necessary for everyone,” she says.
Ryan McAdams
McAdams, also a small business owner, has spent most of his life in ministry and social work. A Charles City County resident who moved from California to Virginia at age 16, he says he decided to run for Congress out of a concern for the direction of the country and in contrast to self-serving politicians. He says he’s well-equipped to take on the incumbent.
McAdams says he thinks of himself as more conservative than his opponent, with strong support for the Second Amendment and a commitment to cracking down on illegal immigration. He also supports the federal tax bill and would like to see welfare reform and a free-market health care solution.
During an interview with WTVR-CBS6, Fenty expressed support for participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that protects undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children — blaming unenforced immigration laws for their situation — McAdams says he opposes DACA and granting amnesty for immigrants who entered the country illegally.
“I believe it’s not good for the American people,” he says. “I think we need to focus on what’s good for Americans, number one, and that needs to be our priority and not illegal aliens.”
Campaign finance data published by the Virginia Public Access Project shows that McAdams has raised $30,566, compared with $6,212 for Fenty. McEachin’s fundraising is listed as $461,112, with about $19,000 cash on hand in two political action committees.
McEachin says he hopes to focus his re-election campaign on what he has done and will continue to advocate for in the 4th District, such as eliminating food deserts, rebuilding the Navy by 355 ships, making sure people have safe and decent housing and ensuring the government works for the constituents.
“It’s an honor to serve this congressional district, and the reason I’d like to continue is to build on the work that we’ve done and try to see it through completion,” McEachin says. “All these things need continuous work. It’s not something that you can do in one term; it’s something you can do over a number of terms.”
Three-Way Primary Race in the 1st District
Rob Wittman
As with McEachin in the 4th District, the odds favor 1st District Republican incument Rob Wittman, who spent 26 years working in state government before being elected in 2007.
Republicans have controlled the district since 1977. As a result of the 2016 redrawing, the 1st District wraps around the outskirts of Richmond as it extends from Fauquier County to Williamsburg and the Northern Neck. In 2017, Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie won 54 percent of the vote over Democrat Ralph Northam, the current governor, who won 44 percent.
However, three Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination in a bid to flip the district this November: Edwin Santana, an engineer and former Marine Corps officer, John Suddarth, an Army veteran and businessman, and Vangie Williams, a strategic planner.
Edwin Santana
Santana said he can best represent the district, which includes some of the state’s major military installations. He advocates for a single-payer health care system and says he knows how to address veteran services, as a veteran himself and the spouse of an active duty Marine.
“The thing I want to do is just make myself available to the men and women of the district, be held accountable by them,” Santana says. “I’m an everyday working guy, I work full time and I think that representation of working folk is sorely missing in government.”
John Suddarth
Suddarth decided to focus his campaign on two critical issues: health care and campaign finance reform. Like Santana, he supports a single-payer health care system. In addition, he wants to address the issue of elected officials responding to the will of special interest groups.
“I’m the oldest and the most experienced,” Suddarth says. “I’m from the district, I was raised by a single mother and we got a lot of help from the government. So often our government does the wrong things because they’re responding to special interests as opposed to voters.”
Like the other candidates, Williams supports a single-payer health care system. She hopes to find pathways to create jobs in the district and invest in communities through enlisted military, veterans, first responders and teachers.
Vangie Williams (photo by Cori Johnson, New Wing Media LLC)
“I put people first,” she says. “I’m running to be the people’s congresswoman. I’m not running to be a liberal congresswoman, I’m not running to be the conservative congresswoman. I have the experience, I have the qualifications, I have the proven leadership by the programs and projects I’ve worked on.”
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, of the three Democrats, Suddarth has raised the most money: $62,959, compared to $39,544 for Williams and $36,014 for Santana. Wittman’s fundraising is listed as $882,786, with $18,518 cash on hand in the Virginia First Fund.
Wittman says he’s focusing his re-election efforts on the issues the constituents of the 1st District have relayed to him, such as government fiscal responsibility. He says he supports the new federal tax legislation and hopes to help rebuild the nation’s military readiness, support veterans and protect the Chesapeake Bay area.
“I’m very excited about the opportunities and relationships we’ve created with folks across the district from the business community to the education community to the environmental interest community to the military community to the veterans community,” Wittman says. “I think we’ve done a tremendous amount, but I think we have a lot more to do with the knowledge and experience I’ve [gained].”
