Compassion and courage. The heart of a public servant with the grit of an ice hockey player. That’s me. I’m Ericka Kopp, candidate for Congress in Virginia’s First District. I stand for access and accountability, and I’m putting people and communities over partisan politics.
This district’s community has raised me for 30 years, since I was three years old. I graduated from JR Tucker High School, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Richmond School of Law. I attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, where I was an altar server and choir member for many years. I have also played ice hockey here for 20 years. So when I see my community being lied to and gaslit by the person who is supposed to represent us, I get mad. And when I get mad, I take action. That is why I’m running for Congress.
As an attorney, I took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. The oath is sacred to me. Candidly, some days I wonder if I take it more seriously than certain sitting members of Congress. In my practice, I defend healthcare. So it makes me furious that Rob Wittman voted for a piece of legislation that undermines healthcare, lied about the impacts of the bill, and gaslit his constituents about it. Not only am I enraged as a healthcare attorney, but I care deeply about the Virginians who will be impacted by this and other changes for years to come.
Unlike Wittman’s assertions to the contrary in writing (because he hasn’t attended an in-person town hall since, what, 2019), that Big Ugly Bill strips upwards of 10 million people of their Medicaid health insurance because it cuts hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid. After all of this, taxpayers are left with a multitrillion-dollar bill while the rich get tax cuts? That’s not leadership, that’s selling out the people.
Everyone is hurt by this bill, even if they don’t realize it.
The loss of funding for Medicaid has both a direct and indirect effect on everyone. Nursing homes, hospitals, and rural health clinics all rely on Medicaid. 1 in 4 nursing homes could close as a result of cuts to Medicaid. Rural hospitals, like one in Lancaster County, could close. Rural health clinics in the Commonwealth have already announced they’re shutting down in response to this bill. Healthcare is not a partisan issue, nor should it be portrayed as such. Why is it that the richest country in the world is also the only developed country without universal healthcare, yet we spend the most money on healthcare? We the People want access to healthcare. Our lives depend on it.
In addition to practicing law, I’m also a caregiver to my husband, a disabled combat veteran. He proudly served this country in Afghanistan. We have jumped through more hoops than I can count for VA services, and I know we’re not alone in that. It shouldn’t be this hard for the people who put their lives on the line wearing the uniforms of the armed services of the United States of America to access veterans’ services. And that was before this administration announced its intention to fire 80,000 federal workers across VA health systems. As of August 12, 2025, staffing shortages at VA health systems had already increased by 50% for fiscal year 2025, compared to 2024. With so many shortages, veterans and their families are the ones being shortchanged of the benefits they’ve earned. Again, this is not a partisan issue; this is an American issue.
At the end of the day, Republican or Democrat, we’re all just people. My platform is not about left or right; it’s about right and wrong. A government that actively harms its people is not a government for the people, and that’s constitutionally and morally wrong. I will stand up for what’s right. That means standing up against the weaponization of the federal government and demanding accountability to the American people. All people, regardless of political affiliation, deserve the truth from public officials. Truth and safety are nonnegotiable.
Ericka Kopp
Candidate for Congress
Virginia’s First Congressional District
