In Their Own Words – What Keeps Me Going

Well, we’re back to a large field of candidates hoping to be chosen by voters to challenge Rob Wittman in CD1. There has been one change in the slate of candidates since our last update. Lewis Littlepage formally announced that he is ending his candidacy. Thank you Lewis for stepping up to run and for making what must have been a difficult decision to end your campaign.

This post asks the candidates what keeps them going: Running for office is a grind in a normal election cycle, but this one brings extra challenges: the chaos unleashed by the Trump administration; a multi-candidate primary; and the redistricting referendum and court decisions. What keeps you going?

Tim Cywinski

It may sound like a cliché, but it’s the people I meet. In the midst of all this chaos, there is also resilience. In a time of indecency, there is still kindness. And in a moment where the odds feel stacked against us, there are still people willing to fight back anyway. Neighbors For Change is an example of that. So is every Democratic committee in rural Virginia showing up without recognition or resources. So is every Indivisible group, every 50501 protester, and every seemingly ordinary person willing to use their voice to meet this moment.

So who am I to quit when it gets hard? Running for office is supposed to be hard. Especially when so many of you are doing even more — without the spotlight, without the credit, and without compensation.

I’m not chasing large donations or high-profile endorsements. I’m running for you.

Salaam Bhatti

Last year, my 6 year old son and I were heading out of the house. I was texting. He got frustrated and said, “You’re always on the phone, you’re always on the computer!” I put the phone away and gently replied, “I’m running for
Congress to make a better world for you.” He replied, “And for everyone else, too?” I said, “Yes, for everyone else, too.” He went quiet for a few moments, seemingly lost in thought. As we went outside and approached the car, he said, “So, you’re kind of like Spider-Man.”

Ever since we had this conversation, he’s been my biggest cheerleader, grabbing a stack of business cards before we go out on walks in case we meet someone along the way, talking with people he’s sitting next to about our campaign, and making sure I’m leaving for events on time.

Shannon Taylor

Shannon Taylor’s campaign has declined to participate in questionnaires.

You can learn more about Shannon on her campaign website.

Mel Tull

What keeps me going is hearing, repeatedly, that people want the same basic things: lower costs, better economic opportunities, and a government that actually works.

Across the district (Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike), people are frustrated with the chaos and dysfunction in Washington. They’re not looking for more political fights; they’re looking for practical solutions. I believe we can make real progress if we focus on economic opportunity and approach governing with a willingness to listen, work across differences, and solve problems.

When voters tell me they just want leaders who will focus on results and treat people with respect, it reinforces that this campaign is about something bigger than politics. It’s about making government work again for the people it serves. The desire and opportunity to bring about this change keeps me going.

Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs

Public service has always been rooted in responsibility for me.

As a veteran, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. That sense of duty does not end when you leave the military. As a parent, that responsibility becomes even more personal. One day my children will ask where I was during this period in our country’s history. I want to be able to tell them honestly that I showed up and did everything I could to protect the community
and country we love.

Campaigns can be difficult, especially during uncertain political moments, but the people I meet across this district remind me why this work matters. Families want leadership that listens, respects them, and takes their concerns seriously. That belief keeps me going.

Jason Knapp

What keeps me going is simple: I’m a fighter. I have been my whole life.

But I learned it from watching my mother. She is the one who climbed from food stamps and Medicaid to a career at NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory — a nineteen year old with no high school diploma and no safety net beyond the one the government provided. She fought every day so that I could have opportunities she didn’t. When I was old enough to understand what she had done, I picked up that fight and carried it forward — through an aerospace engineering degree at UVA, through 35 combat missions over Iraq, through NATO Headquarters, and now here. Quitting has never been part of the calculus. She didn’t raise me that way.

Fast forward to today, and now I’m a father. I think every single day about how to be a better dad, a better husband, a better friend. My daughters are eight and ten, and my son is now four. When you’re a parent, there is no option to disengage from the future — you are invested in it completely. What this moment produces will define their lives. That’s my daily motivation.

And then there are the conversations. On call time asking people to invest in this campaign. At events listening to constituents talk about what they’re facing. Those conversations remind me every day why this matters — and they remind me that we are not waiting for heroes to appear over the horizon, because they’re already here. They’re our friends, our family, our neighbors. Ordinary people who want a better way for themselves and the next generation.

That’s all the greatest generation was. That’s all the conductors of the Underground Railroad were. That’s all the patriots who threw off a monarchy were. They weren’t larger than life — they were Americans who refused to accept that things couldn’t be better, and who did something about it.

That’s what this is. That’s what keeps me going.

Ericka Kopp

What keeps me going is the people. The people who are starved for attention from a representative who won’t give us the time of day. The people who don’t feel seen or heard. The people who live in fear of a tyrannical government every single day. The people need someone to fight for them, and knowing that I have the fight in me to do better for them makes this journey worth it.

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