As election season approaches, Potomac Local News is dedicated to informing the community about candidates vying for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. Early voting in Virginia begins Sept. 20.

To help voters in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District make an informed decision, we continue a feature series offering insights into each candidate’s stand on critical issues affecting our area. Candidates are emailed a question and asked to reply by a deadline.

This first question focuses on data centers.

This format lets voters quickly compare the candidates’ views on critical issues, helping them make an informed choice come election day. Senator Tim Kaine and Hung Cao are running for the  U.S. Senate. Derrick Anderson and Eugene Vindman are running for the District 7 seat in the House of Representatives.

This week, we asked Tim Kaine (D) and Hung Cao (R) the following question:

Given the rapid expansion of data centers in Virginia, how do you plan to balance the economic benefits they bring with the environmental and community impacts, such as energy consumption and land use?

We asked Derrick Anderson (R) and Eugene Vindman (D), both running for House of Representatives the following question:

Data centers are a significant part of Virginia’s economy; how do you plan to work with local and state governments to ensure that their growth benefits local communities without compromising quality of life?

Washington Free Beacon: “Something funny happened when the Washington Free Beacon contacted the campaign of Trump whistleblower turned congressional candidate Eugene Vindman last week. Vindman, a 24-year Army veteran, says he “served our nation in combat.” A 2019 Daily Mail piece said he “has not seen combat.” The Free Beacon asked the campaign to explain the discrepancy.

Vindman’s campaign manager, Jeremy Levinson, responded by introducing a third party, the employee of a political action committee. “All future questions,” he said, could be directed to him.”

Vindman, a Democrat, is running to replace Abigail Spanberger, who represents eastern Prince William County, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, and Fredricksburg. Republican Derrick Anderson is also vying for the seat.

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Eugene Vindman, the Democrat running to replace Abigail Spanberger, delivered a campaign speech to about 35 veterans during an invitation-only rally at Garrison Park in Dumfries. 

Vindman sought to energize his base and draw a contrast with his Republican opponent, Derek Anderson, in the closely watched race for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Woodbridge. With only 84 days until Election Day, Vindman emphasized the stakes of the upcoming election, framing it as a critical moment for the nation and the community.

In his speech, the retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel invoked his personal story as an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. with his family, possessing little more than the hope of achieving the American dream. “The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher,” Vindman said, underscoring his belief that the very essence of that dream is on the line. He criticized the rhetoric coming from the Republican Party, likening it to what one might hear in authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, Iran, or Russia. Vindman argued that such narratives undermine the fundamental values that make the United States great.

Vindman’s message was tailored to national issues and specific concerns in the 7th District, including Northern Virginia communities such as Woodbridge and Dale City. “When I had the opportunity to retire, I chose to retire here in Northern Virginia,” Vindman said, describing his newfound connection to the area where he and his wife, Cindy, chose to live after he left the military in 2022.

Vindman’s brother, Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, made headlines for his testimony during the 2019 impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump after he reported concerns about President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine after hearing Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while serving on the National Security Council.

Eugene Vindman addressed challenges related to Interstate 95, a major transportation artery in the region. He called for improvements to make it multimodal and accept trains and buses to shuttle commuters to Washington, D.C. He also spoke about the importance of maintaining high-quality schools for his family and all families in the district. 

The topic of education led Vindman to denounce efforts by some in the district to ban and even burn books, specifically mentioning Stafford County School district banning several gender-bending books some parents decried as pornographic: “They want to cover up our history, and that’s just plain unacceptable,” Vindman declared.

A Vindman media relations manager denied a request to make Vindman available for press questions at this event. 

Vindman’s speech also touched on Project 2025, an initiative championed by the non-profit Heritage Foundation that he described as a “significant threat to the social safety net.” Vindman erroneously tied Project 2025 with Republican candidates and his opponent instead of the non-profit think tank that authored it.

Vindman emphasized the potential economic impact of eliminating 50,000 civil service jobs. “Can you imagine those high-paying civil service jobs being eliminated or moved out? What would that do to this economy? How would that devastate this economy?” Vindman asked rhetorically to the group.

Despite Vindman’s assertions, Anderson has not backed Project 2025. In a statement to the Washington Post, Anderson said that he does “not support any initiatives that will hurt national security.” An Anderson campaign spokesman said, “This is not something our campaign has ever talked about. Derrick Anderson has been clear that he always places the needs of the country over party, anything that will negatively affect families in VA-07 won’t be supported, and he encourages voters to fact check [Vindman’s] claims.”

Throughout his speech, Vindman attempted to draw a line between him and Anderson, an Army Green Beret, whom he accused of being “bought and paid for by MAGA.” Anderson is a decorated Army Green Beret with six overseas deployments across Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Bahrain.

Vindman pointed to the difference in campaign donations as evidence of their differing loyalties, noting that his average donation is just $27, while Anderson’s financial support comes from “Ultra MAGA” sources. Vindman argued that Anderson would vote in line with those interests if elected, to the detriment of the district and the nation.

Vindman did not mention the ongoing controversy of purported unauthorized small-dollar donations linked to the Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue. These so-called small-dollar donations appear as grass-roots support, but many donors claim to have never authorized those donations. 

According to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), Barbara Staples, a Springhill, Texas retiree, purportedly made 53 small-dollar donations to ActBlue in a single day and 1,600 other donation transactions since 2022. The FEC website shows five small-dollar contributions on June 16, 2024. When asked, Staples said she hadn’t made any donations. 

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyaras announced an investigation into these allegedly fraudulent donations by ActBlue earlier this month, joining a list of state Attorneys General investigating the organization for potential laundering of illegal foreign campaign donations.

The National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bowmar doubled down on the accusations against ActBlue donations and Vindman’s assertions of small-dollar donations, “Vindman’s campaign war chest doubles as a piggy bank for anti-Israel extremists: campaign donations go in, anti-Israel policies spew out. We know Vindman will kowtow to extremists who burn down college campuses – just check the receipts.” 

Early voting in Virginia begins September 20, 2024. The final day for in-person precinct voting is November 5, 2024. For more information on voting, elections.virginia.gov.

Updated -- Virignia Gov. Glenn Youngkin expressed his frustration at the White House after it did not provide him with a briefing on the arrests of two illegal immigrants charged with ramming the gate and trespassing on Quantico Marine Corps Base. They haven't briefed me at all, which is just stunning. What I know is what you know," Youngkin told Potomac Local News during a tour of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office's National Night Out event at Spotsylvania Towne Center on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. A federal judge released Hasan Y. Hamdan and Mohammad K. Dabous on bond on July 22. Both are due back in an Alexandria federal courtroom in September. They are just some of the illegal immigrants Potomac Local News has learned have entered Quanctio Marine Corps Base, a trend among military bases as more illegal immigrants appear to be testing the security of military installations across the U.S.  "I'm just shocked they could be released when they were illegally here and not turned over to the authorities to be dealt with," said Youngkin. The governor asked the White House for a briefing on the incident 76 days ago. Youngkin said the silence from the Biden administration is "consistent on what it's demonstrated" when it comes to open border policies. "[Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee] Kamala Harris needs to live with the fact that she was the border czar. They may try to deny it, but that was her job. She didn't do anything to secure the border, and now we're one border state," said Youngkin. Youngkin toured the community fair with Derrick Anderson, a Spotsylvania native who's running to replace Abigail Spanberger (D) in Congress. Spanberger is not seeking reelection. Republican State Senate Candidate Hung Cao was also there. "We have to shut down the border immediately. I mean, that's got to happen right now. We're seeing illegal immigrants coming in day in and day out, causing havoc not only to the United States but here in the Commonwealth of Virginia," said Anderson. "We have five people in Virginia dying from fentanyl overdoses a day in the Commonwealth. We're seeing an impact in us." Republican Senate Candidate Hung Cao also attended the event. He's running against incumbent Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine, who told WJLA-TV he's not in favor of a mass deportation of illegals. "The notion of mass deportation or calling everybody invaders, no, that's not something I support," the senator told the TV station. "First of all, I'm a legal immigrant to this country. And I'm telling you, don't ask for the American dream if you're not willing to obey the American laws and embrace the American culture," said Cao. Shame on him for not defending this country like he's supposed to and living up to his oath of office." Despite Democrats removing Biden from the presidential ballot and replacing him with his vice president, Younkgin said Trump may win Virginia, a state he's never won and one in which he lost to Biden by 10 points in 2020. "Virignia is still in play," said Youngkin.

@GlennYoungkin attended the@SpotsySheriff National Night Out event at @SpotsylvaniaTC on August 6, 2024 with @DerrickforVA and @HungCao_VA pic.twitter.com/0jwDnDd2HT

— Potomac Local News (@PotomacLocal) August 7, 2024

At a press conference Thursday night, Derrick Anderson, the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, spoke about the riots at Union Station on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, where pro-Hamas protestors defaced federal monuments and burned the U.S. flag. Anderson, an Army Green Beret, drew on his military service to underscore the gravity of the protestors’ actions and the impact on national unity.

“Hamas is coming” was scrawled in red across the face of the Columbus Monument at Union Station, alongside slogans, such as “free Gaza” and “all Zionists are bastards.” The riots coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

Anderson described the flag burning as a personal affront. “As someone who’s a former Green Beret who spent over 10 years in the U.S. Army, someone who did over 150 funerals in Arlington National Cemetery where I laid that flag on our service members before their family members saw them laid to rest, it hit hard to me, it hit incredibly hard,” he said. He recounted his experiences in Afghanistan, including the loss of five of his own soldiers and returning home with their flag-draped coffins for their last fight home. Anderson emphasized that the desecration of the flag at Union Station symbolized a broader disunity within the country.

Anderson criticized his opponent Eugene Vindman for remaining silent in the wake of the riots, calling for greater transparency and action from political leaders. “My opponent has been silent until a few minutes ago, but that’s a day late and a dollar short. It’s time for leaders to act and say what they mean. Transparency is important, and the folks here in the 7th Congressional District deserve transparency, they don’t need a politician that waits to see where the political headwinds blow before standing up for something” he asserted.

Vindman posted to his X account one minute before Anderson began his scheduled press conference, writing, “Violence and destruction are not peaceful protests; it’s not about left or right, it’s about right and wrong. And it was wrong when rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6, and it’s wrong when anti-Israel protesters assaulted police officers and spray-painted Hamas slogans on Washington, DC monuments. I ask my opponent to join me in calling out all forms of violence immediately.”

Violence and destruction are not peaceful protests; it’s not about left or right, it’s about right and wrong.

And it was wrong when rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6 and it’s wrong when anti-Israel protesters assault police officers and spray paint Hamas slogans on… https://t.co/LRYdVMDXQc

— Eugene Vindman (@YVindman) July 25, 2024

Condemnation of Pro-Hamas Support
The candidate also highlighted the role of foreign influence in the protests, referencing reports that Iran had been funding some of these demonstrations. “Our enemies are watching—Iran, China, Russia. In fact, we just saw reports that Iran has been funding some of these protests that are happening in Washington, D.C. and continue to happen,” he said.

Congressman Rob Wittman’s Support
Congressman Rob Wittman (R), who represented part of Prince Willliam County until redistricting in 2021, who joined Anderson at the press conference, echoed his sentiments. Wittman condemned the burning of the U.S. flag and the display of pro-Hamas and Palestinian flags, describing these actions as disrespectful and un-American. “It was disrespectful. It was disloyal to who we are as a nation. Those things can’t be allowed to occur without speaking out against those efforts,” Wittman stated.

Wittman’s district’s boundaries shifted out of Northern Virginia and further southeast, toward Virginia’s Northern Neck and Williamsburg.

First Amendment and Moral Rights
Anderson reiterated his support for the First Amendment but stressed the difference between the legal right to protest and the moral rightness of actions. “While you might have the right to do something, it doesn’t necessarily make it right. And that’s something that we’ve lost as a country,” he said.

Accountability and Prosecution
When asked about the potential for prosecutions following the riots, Anderson noted the lack of specific laws against flag desecration but highlighted other illegal activities, such as graffiti and assaults on law enforcement. He emphasized the need for accountability and consequences for breaking the law.
Call for Unity

Anderson emphasized the need for national unity and common sense throughout his remarks. He called on the residents of the 7th Congressional District to demand transparency and accountability from their leaders and to work towards a more united country. “We see hope. We see a future for our country. But it takes all of us coming together and being unified,” Anderson concluded.

Anderson faces Vindman in the November 5 General Election. Early voting for that election begins on September 20, 2024, at local voter registrar’s offices. Some of the jurisdictions included in the district include eastern Prince William County, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George countries, and Fredericksburg city.

We've asked Democrats seeking a congressional seat in our area where they stand on supporting President Biden's re-election bid.

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Republican Derrick Anderson emerged as the winner of the June 18, 2024, Republican Primary for Virignia’s 7th Congressional District.

The district includes eastern Prince William County, Stafford, and Spostylvania counties, and Fredericksburg.

Anderson secured 16,203 votes, accounting for 45.25% of the total votes cast. He will face Democrat Eugene Vindman in the upcoming November 2024 General Election.

The primary race saw Anderson leading comfortably among his competitors. His closest rival, Cameron Hamilton, garnered 13,333 votes, representing 37.23% of the electorate, which was not enough to close the gap with Anderson. Jon Myers came in third with 4,585 votes, capturing 12.80% of the total vote. The remaining candidates, John Prabhudoss, Maria Martin, and Terris Todd, received significantly fewer votes, with each securing less than 3% of the total.

Our country is the weakest it has been since the event that drove me to run for Congress: the botched withdrawal in Afghanistan. I lost five of my guys, including Green Berets, in Afghanistan, and I was disgusted by the weakness portrayed by the United States during the chaotic withdrawal that saw 20 years of progress and sacrifice wasted in the blink of an eye,” Andesron said in his election night speech on June 18. “We will secure our border to make sure our communities are safe again, our nation is secure, and to guarantee that those who immigrated here legally still have access to the American dream they came here for. We will make living more affordable. It’s time Washington be reminded that their policies are impacting each of us more than they try to understand, and it starts right in our pocket books, wallets, and at our kitchen tables. That ends today.”

Anderson made a bid for the nomination in 2022, but lost to Yesli Vega.Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) has held the the 7th District congressional seat since 2018. She’s not seeking re-election to Congress but is running for Virginia Governor in 2025.

Pivoting to the General Election, Anderson tells us he’ll be knocking doors in Prince William County tomorrow, June 22, 2024.

Vindman, of Dale City, ran a campaign solely to oppose Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President. He and his twin brother Alexander Vindman were key figures in Trump’s first impeachment in 2020.

Vindman cruised to victory over a sea of Democrat candidates vying for the nomination, winning nearly 50% of the vote in the district. He out raised them, too, raking in more than $5 million, mainly from out-of-state liberal donors who oppose Trump.

Elected officials are questioning why Quantico Marine Corps Base didn't tell the public about an attempted security breach at its main gate on May 3, 2024.

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