Today we vote; tomorrow we unite to beat Wittman
You can unwrap your gift tonight: it’s a Democratic nominee for VA-01!
Salutations from Wittman Watch HQ! 👋 🇺🇸
Last week we wrapped up the Wittman Truth Files series with a post about Education. You can find the entire series here.
On Thursday we delivered a summary of recent social media posts. Remember to subscribe on Facebook, Instagram, or BlueSky to get all the rapid-response content on Wittman.
We’ve been building up to a special day, and it’s finally here! Someone wants to say something to you:
Today: Primary Election Day
Today’s the day, VA-01: the last day you can vote in the Democratic Primary Election, to decide which one of the seven candidates will go head-to-head with Rob Wittman for the First District’s seat in Congress.
Don’t know who to vote for? We’ve got you covered.
Want to hear from the candidates directly? Sure!
Don’t know why you should vote today? Here’s what we wrote in June:
VA-01 is now the nation’s “bellwether” race: our district represents the middle of all races across the country. If VA-01 flips Blue — if Rob Wittman loses — it’s likely the Democrats will win a majority in the House. The most recent polling of VA-01 (from a Republican firm in April 2026) showed Trump underwater in the district at 42% favorable, 50% unfavorable. Wittman himself registered just 35% favorable. Polls show that 20% of voters in VA-01 have no opinion on Wittman, and 23% don’t know who he is. How is that even possible after 19 years in office? In a head-to-head matchup (against Shannon Taylor, whom the Republican pollsters chose for their study) earlier in the campaign, the race polled dead even. Since that poll, Trump’s star has fallen even further; Wittman is joined to him at the hip, given his record of voting with Trump 100% of the time.
A Democrat can win the VA-01 race. Whichever Democrat emerges from the primary on August 4 will face a vulnerable Rob Wittman in a district that’s tilting away from him. In 19 years, he’s never had to compete for our seat like this. He’s not prepared for it. His lies are catching up with him. More and more of us see what Wittman has become: a silently complicit MAGA politician who serves wealthy donors and sells our rights, liberties, and opportunities to satisfy them.
We don’t have to suffer more years of this. America can’t afford to suffer the likes of Wittman. The choice you make in the primary matters…
Pick your candidate, vote in the primary, and vote for the nominee in November. We can’t afford Rob Wittman!
So take 15 minutes today and go vote in the primary.
Tomorrow: Unite to Beat Wittman Day
Whoever becomes the Democratic nominee tomorrow faces three months of truly hard work, and every one of us must do all we can to help them. Here’s why.
The latest polls show that, 60 times out of 100, any Democrat will beat Rob Wittman for the VA-01 seat in Congress. Our district is now a “Toss Up” race.
To put this into context:
In 2020, Trump won VA-01 by 6.7%, and Wittman won by 16.4%, although the district was a slightly different shape then
In 2022, Wittman won by 13%
In 2024, Trump won VA-01 by 4.9%, and Wittman won by 13%
The fact that polls are showing this race as a “Toss-Up” now is remarkable, and it fits with the broader pattern across the country. FiftyPlusOne’s overall conclusion is that Democrats are favored to win majorities in the House and Senate in November, which was almost unthinkable even a few months ago — especially considering the Trump-ordered gerrymandering of multiple states.
The epic, unbelievable, but all-too-real failures of Donald Trump’s second term are crystal clear to the majority of American voters. They see the unquestioning, simpering loyalty to Trump of people like Rob Wittman, and they are reacting accordingly.
Democratic voters are firm in their convictions that the 2024 election was a disaster for America.
Moderate Republican voters are abandoning that party in droves.
Independent voters — who truly do make the most significant difference in elections — have swung from moderate support of Trump in 2024 to absolute rejection of him, his agenda, and those who conspire with him to enact it.
But just as we can’t rely on Trump and Wittman to do anything but help themselves and their donors, we cannot trust their pitiful record to be enough to ensure their defeat in November. It all starts by uniting behind the Democratic nominee, starting tomorrow.
We cannot stress this enough. You may have a preferred candidate and they may not win, and you may have strong positive, negative, or ambivalent feelings about the nominee, but one thing is clear: the Democratic nominee will be the only individual who can beat Wittman.
As much as the seven wonderful candidates might each make a spectacular representative for our district, and while they may have staunchly advocated for themselves (and against each other) through today, only the nominee will have a shot at taking the seat.
Tomorrow is Unite to Beat Wittman Day.
And this is where you come in. We need to ensure that all voters in VA-01:
Know there’s a critical election on November 3rd
Understand how Rob Wittman has failed them and will continue to fail them
Know the Democratic candidate and how their policies will improve their lives
Have a plan NOW to vote in the election (early, by mail, or on Election Day)
This is especially true for those Independent voters who make such a huge difference in elections. Those folks are influenced most by information from their friends and their social networks (online and offline). So making sure they have the information they need is vital!
And there’s no time to waste. So after you vote today, make a plan for what you’ll do tomorrow. We have lots of suggestions, and everyone can participate.
No on Wittman
First, the No on Wittman campaign has established the foundations for everything that happens after today. Their volunteer sign-up suggests how you can get involved right now.
Put up a yard sign
Write some postcards
Talk to your neighbors
Have a neighborhood get-together
Drop literature at doorsteps
The No On Wittman folks have free yard signs you can pick up. We also have a few [ahem] decorative and subtly politically neutral signs in our online store, if your community has rules you need to consider! 😉
In the meantime, Wittman has started running TV ads portraying himself as a “moderate” who relies on scientific principles to make decisions in Congress. It’s absolute hooey.
The Wittman campaign’s goal is to distract voters from the issues and make the claim that he is a reliable, trustworthy person with the district’s best interests at heart. But we’ve got his number. We know the truth.
We strongly encourage everyone to share RobsRecord.com with friends, family, and neighbors – it’s a quick and simple way to share the facts about Rob Wittman’s impact on VA-01, so folks can come to their own conclusions about him. Share the site often and broadly. Comments on Wittman’s own Facebook pages (for his official House office and his campaign) are especially helpful, as are comments in any discussions you see about affordability, jobs, inflation, tariffs, immigration, and so on – the site has pre-made snippets for almost everything!
Our Take Action page gives you easy access to:
Join a local Indivisible group
Build your local neighborhood community, with the help of our friends at Community Coalition for Common Ground
Get engaged on urgent issues with Virginia Organizing
Volunteer with your local Democratic Committee (they’re super lovely people!)
Make donations to the candidate and associated groups
If you read news, consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. You don’t have to start from scratch! Use any Wittman Watch content you’d like, and send us snippets if you’re published – we love to show the world how Wittman Watchers like you are making a difference in their communities.
Whatever you do, get involved. Change doesn’t happen because we wish it – it happens because we make it. WE are the change. YOU are the change. And the First District has suffered enough under Rob Wittman’s feckless, anemic representation.
We can’t afford Rob Wittman.
Pass it on!
We’ve met some delightful people while volunteering for local candidates. In the comments here, share with us your favorite stories from volunteering in elections – for a candidate, at the polls, and anywhere else!