Eugene Vindman (D) and Derrick Anderson (R) are running in the general election for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District on November 5, 2024.
Incumbent Abigail Spanberger (D) is running for Governor of Virginia. Spanberger was first elected in 2018.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is supporting Vindman as part of its Red to Blue program that targets Republican incumbents and open districts. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting the district as part of a list that “represent prime pick-up opportunities for Republicans.”
As of July 18, 2024, four major election forecasters differed in their outlooks for this contest, with predictions varying from Tilt Democratic to Likely Democratic.
Vindman is a retired military officer who served in the U.S. Army from 1997 to 2022. He worked as a legal advisor for the U.S. National Security Council. He gained recognition for reporting a phone call between former President Donald Trump (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that played a role in Trump’s first impeachment trial. Vindman is campaigning on his role in the impeachment proceedings, saying, “I will always stand for the people and stand for Democracy.” Referencing having been born in present-day Ukraine, Vindman says the United States should “do much more to support Ukraine in Russia’s illegal war” to discourage countries from attacking neighbors. Vindman says he believes abortion should be a right and that he would oppose attempts to limit access to abortion at the federal level.
Anderson is an attorney who worked in the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2014, serving in the U.S. Army Special Forces for part of that time. He lost in the Republican primary for the district in 2022. Anderson is campaigning on his military career, saying, “I will stand up for our veterans to guarantee they receive the quality of care and benefits they deserve.” Anderson says the Biden administration’s economic policies have increased the cost of living and that he would address this “by reining in out-of-control spending and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, which trickles down to American families in the form of higher costs.” Anderson says that “the chaos at the border is threatening our communities daily with the endless stream of fentanyl crossing it” and that he would increase funding to law enforcement to address safety.
Based on Q2 2024 reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Vindman raised $7.5 million and spent $5.2 million and Anderson raised $1.4 million and spent $957,090.
All 435 U.S. House seats are up for election in 2024. Republicans have a 220 to 212 majority with three vacancies. As of June 2024, 45 members of the U.S. House had announced they were not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. House elections taking place this year, click here.
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have beaten Donald Trump (R) 52.6%-45.8%.