Shannon Taylor: “Rob Wittman has done real harm to real people in this district. I intend to prosecute the case against him.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2026
HENRICO, VA – Today, national anti-corruption organization End Citizens United named Congressman Rob Wittman to its 2026 Most Corrupt Politicians list — a designation reserved for lawmakers who have most egregiously put special interests ahead of the people they were elected to serve. Shannon Taylor, Henrico County’s top prosecutor and candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 1st District, released the following statement in response:
“Rob Wittman’s place on this list is well-earned. He has grown his net worth by millions over his nearly 20 years in office, traded stocks in companies his own committee oversees, and voted to give himself a massive tax break on his trip-decker beach house all while costs rise for working families,” said Taylor. “The evidence is overwhelming and the verdict is clear: Rob Wittman has spent nearly two decades in Washington working for himself. I’ve spent my career as a prosecutor holding people accountable when they do harm — and Rob Wittman has done real harm to real people in this district. I intend to prosecute the case against him.”
The case against Rob Wittman: After nearly two decades in Washington, Rob Wittman has become the exact kind of career politician voters are sick and tired of — a symbol of everything that’s broken and corrupt in Congress.
- Wittman has “more than tripled” his net worth over nearly two decades in Congress, even as costs continue to rise for Virginia families.
- Wittman reportedly voted for a tax exemption on his triple decker Outer Banks beach house and “could personally save up to an eyewatering $60,000 a year – thanks to his eight-bedroom beach rental.” Wittman’s beach house is reportedly “a $1.5 million, 3,656 sq ft beach house on the North Carolina Outer Banks, 150 miles from his Virginia district.”
- Wittman “traded $2.56 million in stocks between 2015 and 2023” while actively voting in Congress.
- Business Insider reported that Wittman bought defense stocks like Lockheed Martin and Honeywell while sitting on the House Armed Services Committee.
- Politico revealed Wittman purchased shares in the pharmaceutical giant AbbVie at the beginning of the pandemic as the company worked on COVID-related treatments.
Taylor has growing momentum around her race to unseat Wittman. She recently announced that she has raised $1.28 million. She has earned endorsements from Governor Abigail Spanberger, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, former Governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam, Rep. Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Rep. James Walkinshaw (VA-11), and Rep. Jennifer McClellan (VA-04). She also recently announced endorsements from 25 law enforcement leaders across the Commonwealth, signaling that her campaign is building the broad coalition needed to flip this seat.
And both non-partisan elections race raters Cook Political Report and Inside Elections recently shifted Virginia’s 1st Congressional District in Democrats’ direction, specifically citing the strength of Taylor’s campaign as a major reason for the change.
Taylor announced that if the April 21st referendum passes, she will run in the newly drawn 5th District with the continued backing of Governor Spanberger.
ABOUT SHANNON:
Shannon Taylor is a battle-tested prosecutor with 25 years of experience and a 90% conviction rate in homicide cases, taking on the toughest threats to Virginia families and delivering justice. A native of Charlottesville and graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond Law School, she began her career as a prosecutor in Richmond before serving as a Special Assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office. In 2011, she flipped the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office from Republican to Democrat, becoming the first woman elected to the role. She has since been re-elected three times, proving she knows how to win tough races.
As Commonwealth’s Attorney, Taylor has pioneered programs to support victims of human trafficking, created a task force to tackle the opioid epidemic, and led prosecutors statewide in pledging not to criminalize women or doctors for abortion care. She has worked alongside law enforcement to keep families safe, fought fraud that harms working people, and partnered with gun safety advocates to take illegal guns off the streets.
Shannon Taylor has built her career on protecting Virginians and delivering justice for families regardless of their politics.
For more on Shannon Taylor’s campaign, visit ShannonTaylorVA.com.
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