Supporters for Rep. Rob Wittman greet attendees at the 1st District debate at Hanover High School. (Photo by Taylor Mills)
Supporters of Democratic candidate Vangie Williams greet people arriving at the 1st District debate at Hanover High School. (Photo by Taylor Mills)
Questions about health care, economic issues and immigration dominated Thursday night’s 1st District debate between Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman and Democratic opponent Vangie Williams in Hanover County, their last public forum before the election.
Wittman is the longtime incumbent for the Republican-leaning district. Originally from Westmoreland County, he was first elected in 2007. In the last congressional election in 2016, he won his fifth term in the House.
Williams works as a strategic planner and mother of six daughters from King George County. This election is the first time that she has run for office.
At the start of the forum, the candidates were asked about their views on economic issues. One of the first questions was about their position on President Trump’s tariff policy on soybeans, a matter of concern for farmers in the district, which reaches from north of Fredericksburg to the Virginia Peninsula, including the Northern Neck and areas north and east of Richmond. Wittman said he stands behind the president’s decision on the aggressive nature of the tariffs against China.
Rob Wittman
“We need to be aggressive with our adversaries,” Wittman said. “China is aggressively trying to defeat us.”
William responded by saying that the price of soybeans has dropped 20 percent as a result of the tariffs and that the government bailout of farmers was just a quick fix. She was then asked about how she would help small businesses thrive.
“I have an infrastructure plan that is workable,” Williams said. “Not a dream, not a study. An actual transportation infrastructure plan that includes broadband, so that businesses can thrive.”
When answering the same question, Wittman stated that he had already gotten $680 million for the district to be put toward getting broadband to rural areas. “That is action, not a plan,” he said.
The candidates were asked what they thought were the key components of a better health care system. Wittman thinks that the key component is transparency on the cost of procedures. During Williams’ rebuttal, she brought up Wittman’s votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“Rep. Wittman voted 70 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” Williams said. “They [Republicans] have had control of all three branches of government, yet they have not given us the option of a replacement.”
Vangie Williams
Responding to a question about the large caravan of Honduran migrants moving through Mexico, Williams said that the United States already has laws in place for immigration. “It is not fair that they just enter our country without going through the proper processes.” But she said the U.S. needs to make it possible for immigrants to work legally and seek asylum.
Wittman said the immigration system is broken. He said that the U.S. needs to secure its borders “which includes a wall,” and increase the number of border patrol agents.
“You have to eliminate the visa lottery program. It just doesn’t make sense when people are coming into this country randomly,” Wittman said. “I want to make sure that it is based on merit. Every other nation in the world based on merit. Let's make sure we match the needs of this country with people coming in.”
The audience at the debate was filled with supporters for both Williams and Wittman. After the moderator asked the crowd to keep applause to a minimum, both sides took to making silent gestures, such as jazz hands and thumbs up, to show their agreement what a candidate said something that they agreed with.
Brian Bayford, a small business owner and Wittman supporter, said he thought that both candidates were relatively civil toward each other. “Vangie, though, every time she stands up she says something negative about Rob. He didn’t do that, not once.” He said he would like the candidates to speak more about their own accomplishments.
Kathy Larue, a Williams supporter, said she enjoyed the crowd’s reactions, but she thought that a lot of the crowd had already made up their mind about the candidates beforehand and that they should listen to what both sides had to say. She also found how both candidates gave similar answers to some of the questions asked. “For several of the issues, both of the candidates were saying the same thing.”
