Shannon Taylor (D) and incumbent Rob Wittman (R) have spent roughly $23.5 million on advertising — and it shows. 

Their advertising armada has included YouTube ads, billboards, social media posts, merchandise and lawn signs. In what’s been crowned the most expensive midterm ever nationally, Virginia’s District 1 candidates are ramping up their spending in these final few days before Tuesday’s election.

Before Oct. 14, the Federal Election Commission reported that Taylor and Wittman had spent roughly $4 million and $6 million, respectively. Now, between the two, Taylor is by far the biggest spender. The Virginia Public Access Project says Wittman has paid about $8.5 million on political ads as of Thursday afternoon, and Taylor has nearly reached $15 million.

Those numbers are largely unprecedented for a House race in the Richmond area, but still fall short of cracking the Top 25 nationally in a year where competitive races are seeing major spending.

The race

Wittman has served in Congress for nearly two decades, but facing an anticipated "blue wave" this election cycle, he’s fighting for his political life. A respected local pundit, Chaz Nuttycombe, gives Taylor a 73% chance of flipping the seat on Tuesday.

That’s to say, this otherwise local election is shimmering in a national spotlight.

While it includes parts of Hanover and Henrico, VPAP maps show that District 1’s portion of Chesterfield County hosts nearly a quarter of its registered voters, putting Chesterfield in a key position.

The district is purple, having leaned Spanberger in 2025, while favoring the Republican ticket for both lieutenant governor and attorney general. Meanwhile, Chesterfield itself has begun to skew blue between the 2025 and 2024 cycles — a shift from elections past, including 2021.

Focus on Chesterfield

Neither House candidate has had strictly-Chesterfield elected experience. Taylor has served as Henrico’s commonwealth’s attorney since 2012. Before Wittman was elected to the House in 2007, he was a state delegate for the 99th district in 2005 — which included Caroline, King George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland Counties. 

So, how have the pair kept up with their would-be constituents?

Both have made the classic campaign stops in Chesterfield. In October, Taylor chatted with Cosby High School students about their expectations for elected leaders, and Wittman paid the new county administrator, Kevin Catlin, a visit. 

Wittman said this kind of face-to-face connection is the best way for elected officials to answer national questions.

“As much as people may want to try to nationalize the election, it still boils down to what’s important to people in their daily lives,” Wittman said.

Taylor herself adopted this mentality while strutting through Midlothian during its community parade.

The Richmonder reached out to county Democrats and Taylor’s campaign three times each, but didn’t receive a response by deadline.

While on the campaign trail, the two candidates have touted nationally focused agendas  — on-base with other House elections in a highly nationalized midterm. Affordability has been forefront in both candidates’ campaigns, but that’s not a uniquely Chesterfield topic.

“We talk about the national issues, but really, when you boil them down, they all still have that local connection,” Wittman said.

Read more

See the Virginia Mercury’s guide to the race here:

With US House control hanging in the balance, Wittman faces Taylor in contentious VA-01 race • Virginia Mercury

Virginia’s 1st Congressional District is drawing national attention, as parties eye a potential flip from red to blue.

Virginia MercuryShannon Heckt

Contact Eleanor Shaw at eshaw@richmonder.org. She is a Report for America corps member.