FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Virginia State Senator Tara Durant (R) announced her campaign for Congress on June 18, 2025, setting up a high-stakes showdown with incumbent Rep. Eugene Vindman (D) in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
“As a mom, Marine wife, and conservative fighter, I’ve spent my life standing up for faith, family, and freedom,” Durant said in her announcement. “As a State Senator, I partnered with Governor Glenn Youngkin to cut taxes, back the blue, and fight back against the far-left agenda. Now I’m running for Congress to take that same fight to Washington and work with President Trump to secure our border, fully fund our police, end the reckless spending, and restore common-sense leadership.”
Durant, who currently represents Virginia’s 27th Senate District—including Fredericksburg, Stafford County, and Spotsylvania County—won her seat in 2023 with 48.28% of the vote, defeating Democrat Joel Griffin and Independent Monica Gary. She did not represent Prince William County, which is not part of her state Senate district but is the largest locality in the 7th Congressional District.
In contrast, Prince William County played a decisive role in Vindman’s 2024 congressional victory. Vindman carried the county with 63.63% of the vote, defeating Republican Derrick Anderson by more than 36,000 votes there. While Anderson won Spotsylvania County (53.52%) and came within a percentage point of Vindman in Stafford County, it wasn’t enough to overcome Vindman’s large margin in Prince William. Vindman ultimately won the district with 50.20% of the vote, compared to Anderson’s 47.38%.
Durant’s base of support in Stafford and Spotsylvania—two of the three largest jurisdictions in the district—helped her win her state Senate seat in 2023. In that race, she carried both counties while losing in the city of Fredericksburg. Now, she’ll need to expand her support into Prince William County, which leans heavily Democratic and helped power Vindman’s win.
Vindman, a retired Army colonel and ethics attorney who rose to prominence during the Trump impeachment inquiry, took office in January 2025. Since then, he’s opened a district office in Fredericksburg, faced scrutiny over campaign spending tied to a book tour involving his twin brother, and made headlines for an apology after posing with a historical Virginia flag linked to the Confederacy.
The 2026 race for Virginia’s 7th District is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in the country, drawing national attention and likely millions in campaign spending.
Governor Glenn Youngkin visited Stafford County on Friday, highlighting more than 250,000 open jobs across Virginia—even as concerns mount over federal job cuts. Speaking at SimVentions, an engineering and technology services firm in Stafford, Youngkin told the crowd, “Virginia has jobs. Lots of jobs.”
The event, hosted at SimVentions’ headquarters, was organized with the help of State Senator Tara Durant (R-28, Fredericksburg, Stafford), who said the initiative behind the state’s jobs rollout has been years in the making.
Youngkin praised the Commonwealth’s momentum in job growth, citing key statistics.
“We’ve had over 260,000 more people working today than just three years ago,” said Youngkin. “And that has translated into over $100 billion of investment committed to plants, to expansions, to R&D centers, to new headquarters, and very importantly, to new power supplies across all of Virginia.”
Youngkin also pointed to four consecutive years of budget surpluses totaling nearly $10 billion. “We’ve been able to return a substantial amount of money in tax relief to our owners, the people of Virginia. $8 billion by the time we’re done,” he said, noting the number could reach $9 billion under the current budget negotiations.
The governor emphasized that investment has extended to education, with “Virginia investing 50% more in education than we did just five years ago.”
SimVentions President Joe Caliri said the company currently has “27 or 29 job openings,” with most roles focused on “high-tech secure type work—software engineering, system engineering, modeling simulation, cyber security, and then all the analytics that come along with that.”
Caliri said SimVentions has grown from just three employees to more than 400. “It’s been a challenge to grow the business at the right level, at the right pace. But hiring the right people makes a big difference. So we’re really picky about who we hire and make sure we keep them once we get them.”
Although SimVentions has not been directly impacted by the federal job cuts, Caliri said the ripple effects of federal job losses are being felt.
“It affects me watching the patriots who are federal employees kind of get shoved aside a little bit,” he said. “So if our customers aren’t being successful or don’t have an opportunity to be successful, by definition, we can’t be successful.”
Durant said the virginiaHasjobs.com initiative wasn’t a reactive move—it’s been long in development.
“They started this out of necessity even before we started to see this whole new conversation from a different perspective that some people may be looking for work,” she said. “So I think that’s why the website and the rollout has been so phenomenal because clearly you can tell they’ve been working on this for a decade.”
Asked if the region is prepared for more federal layoffs, Durant said, “In our family, we’re walking through this with our family and friends too. My husband is a federal employee. Everybody’s affected. Yeah, we’re walking through this together.”
Still, she expressed hope that Stafford County and surrounding areas may weather the storm better than others. “Considering this region has been so vibrant and we’ve been growing so fast, I think we’re going to, you know, hopefully we will land better than maybe some other parts,” she said.
Youngkin urged those impacted by federal cuts—or anyone seeking a new opportunity—to visit virginiahasjobs.com, where more than 250,000 jobs are listed.
“The second most powerful three words in the English language are, ‘You are hired,’” said Youngkin. “They express so much. I value you, and therefore want you to be part of our team. You will have a future, and therefore you don’t hire a person. Oftentimes, you hire a family.”
Stafford County leaders are responding to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s recent veto of SB1307, a bill that would have allowed counties and cities across Virginia to hold voter referendums on implementing a 1% local sales and use tax dedicated to public school construction and renovation projects.
The legislation, introduced by Senator Jeremy McPike (D-29, Prince William, Stafford), sought to add Stafford County to the list of localities eligible to consider the tax through a ballot referendum. McPike criticized the governor’s decision on social media, calling it a move that blocks local communities from choosing how to fund needed school improvements.
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Stafford County Supervisor Deuntay Diggs will hold his first town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Stafford High School.
Diggs represents the George Washington District, said he'll be joined by elected School Board member, Susan Randall, also of George Washington, as well as residents whom Diggs appointed to several county boards and commissions.
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"The Superintendent and School Board provided tangible ways to improve student outcomes, urging legislators to provide Stafford County with increased funding necessary to support high expectations for student performance, provide a safe, positive learning environment, and provide better conditions to recruit, retain and develop staff. Additional discussion focused on the need for a reduction in the burden of unfunded mandates and inefficient government practices."
"Stafford Schools urged legislators to consider Virginia’s K-12 funding formula to provide a more accurate cost of education in the local area, and to provide for additional local sales and use taxes for school construction or renovation. The School Board encouraged elimination of support position caps to allow an increase in Basic Aid funding. To support the advocation of increased funding, school administrators laid out changes to Standards of Quality caps that would provide for an increase in counselors. psychologists, social workers, assistant principals, English Language Learner teachers, and Work Based Learning coordinators.
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The General Election in Virginia on Tuesday, November 7, saw changes in representation for the State Senate.
This was the first election held under newly drawn political districts by the Virginia State Supreme Court in 2021.
