GOP Primary in 1st Congressional District is Today

By Matt Poms Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Tuesday is primary day for Republicans in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, as voters will head to the polls to select between incumbent Rob Wittman and Tea Party challenger Catherine Crabill. The winner will represent the Republican Party in November’s general election for the 1st District House seat.

Wittman first gained his seat in a 2007 special election called after Representative JoAnn Davis' death. He ran again in the 2008 general election and won. Wittman's campaign for a second full term has centered mostly on conservative fiscal issues, where he has gained the support of Gov. Bob McDonnell and other Republican party leaders in urging restraint in federal spending.

The Republican currently sits on the House Armed Services Committee, as well as the Committee on Natural Resources. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates before his election to Congress.

Crabill has never held elected office, and was defeated last year in a race for the 99th Distict House of Delegates seat.

The conservative activist is running on an anti-Washington campaign, and highlights the role of the Constitution in the federal government. She states on her website: “Progressives/Liberals/Socialists/Fascists/Communists/Marxists have our Constitution as their one great roadblock to Tyranny. And block them we will by our reaffirmation and our declaration that we will no longer tolerate the desecration of this sacred document; nor will we tolerate those elected officials who swear a sacred oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution and then betray it the minute they take office.”

All 1st District voters, regardless of party affiliation, are eligible to vote Tuesday at their local polling places.