![Yesli Vega (center) pictured with Cameron Hamilton (right) and his family.](https://www.potomaclocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/vega-hamilton-.jpeg)
Yesli Vega will not seek the Republican nomination for the 7th District Congressional race.
Vega was the party nominee in 2022 for the seat now held by Abigail Spanberger. She told Potomac Local News that she endorsed Hamilton at the Prince William County Republican Committee meeting.
Vega began a second term on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors this month.
It’s the latest in a series of endorsements for Hamilton, including the backing of Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Hamilton is married, a father of three, a Navy SEAL combat veteran, and a former Homeland Security division director with a military and public service background.
During his military career, he served in SEAL Team Eight and completed four overseas deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Following an honorable discharge after 10 years, Cameron worked at the U.S. Department of State, supporting crisis response teams and the Bureau of Counterterrorism. His responsibilities included protecting congressional delegations and Ambassadors at U.S. Embassies and Diplomatic Missions. Later, he joined the Department of Homeland Security as the Director of the Emergency Medical Services Division, overseeing EMTs, First Responders, and Operational Medical Programs.
With a bachelor’s degree in health science, Cameron has extensive international experience, serving in over 35 countries under four different Presidential administrations. He and his family live in Orange, Virginia.
Virginia’s 7th Congressional District includes all or part of 10 counties, including Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, King George, Orange, Madison, Greene, and Albermarle. It also includes Fredericksburg.
It’s an open seat this year after incumbent Democrat Abigail Spanberger announced she would not seek reelection and instead will run in 2025 to become Virginia’s next governor at the end of Glenn Youngkin’s term (Virginia is the only state in the union that does not permit incumbent governors from serving consecutive terms).
Spanberger, who worked as a federal law enforcement officer and a CIA officer before entering politics, was first elected to the 7th District seat in 2018.
In her 2022 matchup with Vega, Spanberger won 53% of the vote. Vega won eight of the 10 counties in the district, including Stafford and Spotsylvania. But she lost Prince William County, the most populated county in the district. Prince William voters are credited with giving Spanberger the win.
Hamilton is one of eight Republicans vying for the seat.
Eight Democrats- Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, Margaret Franklin, Brianna Sewell, and Elizabeth Guzman, from Prince William County, and Clifford Heinzer, of Stafford County- also seek the seat.
Virginia’s Presidential Primary is on March 5, 2024. Early voting by mail and in-person is now underway. You can find your polling place here.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D, Va. 7th) press release: "U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today voted with a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to authorize U.S. Department of Defense funding levels, increase troop pay, and help set the nation’s defense priorities."
"The House-passed fiscal year 2024 (FY24) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a 5.2 percent pay increase for U.S. servicemembers. Additionally, the bill includes two Spanberger-led provisions to crack down on dangerous fentanyl trafficking by transnational criminal organizations and modernize the United States’ security classification system."
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Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D, Va. -- Prince William, Stafford, Fredericksburg): "Across Virginia, USPS serves as a vital lifeline. Virginians rely on a strong USPS to deliver not just seasonal cards and heartfelt gifts, but also lifesaving medications and important customer orders. Since we relaunched our USPS survey last week, more than 1,200 Virginians have shared stories — of essential medicines getting lost in the mail, payments to business owners or goods to customers not arriving, late fees being charged when bills arrive past-due or payments are delayed in transit, and so much more."
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Two elected officials in our region - Senator Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William, Stafford) and Stafford County Board of Supervisors Garrisonville District Supervisor Dr. Pamela Yueng (also serving as board chair this year) won't seek higher office.
Both elected officials told Potomac Local News they would not seek the 7th Congressional seat, encompassing eastern Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George, Culpeper, Greene counties, and Fredericksburg.
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Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin is running for Congress.
The Democrat filed to run in Virginia's 7th Congressional District to replace incumbent Abigail Spanberger, who announced she will run in 2025 to be Virginia's 75th Governor and not seek re-election to Congress. Spanberger has held the 7th District seat since 2018.
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Military Times: "Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, one of the twin Army officers targeted by former President Donald Trump for their roles in his impeachment scandal, is launching a Democratic congressional bid that could put him on the same ballot as the former commander-in-chief."
"In an interview with Military Times, the 48-year old retired Army colonel said he’s ready for that fight."
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Derrick Anderson For Congress: "Today, Derrick Anderson announced he is running for the Republican Nomination for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District."
"Derrick Anderson is a native of Spotsylvania County, was in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech, and received his J.D. from Georgetown Law.He is a former Special Forces 'Green Beret' with 6 tours of duty overseas."
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By Natalie Barr
Capital News Service
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., stayed busy on Election Day, meeting voters at polling locations across Virginia's 7th District in a closely watched race.
Voter Janet Evans did not expect to run into the congresswoman at Lewis and Clark Elementary school in Caroline County. Months earlier, she did not even know much about Spanberger, but redistricting had put Evans on the campaign team's call list.
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President Donald Trump gave an unsolicited endorsement to Yesli Vega, prompting now a response from her campaign.
Trump urged voters to elect Vega, a Republican from the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, to Virginia's 7th Congressional District. Trump posted the endorsement onto his Truth social media platform and called her a "strong Republican voice against violent crime and all other things destroying our nation. He also wrote, "Vega is a warrior for America First," and tied to Spanberger to voting to support President Biden's agenda 100% of the time, despite campaigning as a moderate.