In Their Own Words – What Truly Differentiates Me

The Redistricting Referendum passed and we’re waiting on the courts for a final decision. In an effort to help with filtering the information, we’ve sorted the candidates according to where they plan to run in the newly redrawn districts if the court determines the referendum vote stands (we’re optimists here at N4C). A map is included at the end for your reference. Note: candidate Ericka Kopp plans to announce her plans following the final court decision.

This week we asked the candidates to share what truly differentiates them in a crowded field where many campaign priorities are shared.

Tim Cywinski

This campaign is driven by the people I’ve worked alongside as an organizer — people who’ve done everything right and still feel like the system isn’t working for them. People who’ve worked their whole lives and are now getting crushed by rising healthcare costs. People who feel like no matter how hard they push, they’re still on the outside looking in.

I know that feeling personally. My brother was born with a serious heart condition, and even with health insurance, my family was forced to make impossible choices — like choosing between paying the mortgage or paying his medical bills. We ended up losing our home, not because my
parents didn’t work hard, but because the system failed them.

That experience taught me something I’ve seen repeated across this district: what people are going through may look different on the surface, but it often comes from the same place. It’s never just one struggle — it’s a system that keeps failing people in different ways.

My focus reflects my background as someone who has spent nearly half my life working in politics, both inside and outside the halls of power. That’s why I’m not just focused on policy outcomes, but on reforming the system itself — and building a genuinely people-powered campaign in the process. One that prioritizes showing up, listening, and organizing in every part of the district, especially in communities that are often overlooked.

I don’t expect people to take my word for any of this right away — and that’s okay. Trust in our politics is low for a reason. I’m supposed to earn it. That means showing up consistently, being honest about what I believe, and proving over time that I’m willing to fight for the people I’m asking to represent. It’s also why I refuse corporate money.

At the end of the day, I’m asking people to reimagine what they should expect from their politicians. It can be better than what we have today — and it has to be if we’re serious about building a future that works for all of us.

Salaam Bhatti

My work has already positively impacted tens of thousands of Virginians, thousands of VA businesses, and millions of Americans.

My campaign is people-powered; we are not taking any money from corporations or AIPAC.

Shannon Taylor

Shannon Taylor’s campaign indicated that they are waiting until the redistricting issue is settled before completing questionnaires. She has announced she will run in CD5.

N4C will add her answers when they are received.

Mel Tull

What differentiates me is my experience actually solving problems in the real world, not just talking about them. For 30 years, I’ve worked as a business lawyer, small business owner, and nonprofit leader. My work has required me to bring people together, understand different perspectives, and find practical solutions that move things forward. In business, if you can’t build relationships and find common ground, nothing gets done.

As a small business owner, I’ve lived with the challenges that many Virginians face including balancing a budget, meeting payroll, and dealing with rising costs. That experience shapes how I think about economic policy; it has to work in the real world.

I’ve also been deeply committed to community service, including leadership roles with organizations that support vulnerable children and families. Similarly, my wife Annemarie is a pediatrician who takes care of children on Medicaid. The work we do reinforces my belief that good policy should expand opportunity and provide real support where it’s needed most. I’ll take everything we’ve learned serving our
community with me to Washington.

I’m running to bring a pragmatic, results-oriented approach to Congress—focused on getting things done and improving people’s lives.

Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs

What sets me apart as a candidate is my experience leading under opposition. Throughout my career, especially as a combat arms officer integrating women into a previously closed role, I often walked into environments where I was not expected and not always welcomed. I did not choose the soldiers I led, and they did not choose me. We came from different backgrounds, beliefs, and life experiences. But leadership is about building trust across those differences. I earned that trust, and together we worked toward something bigger than ourselves.

That experience will be necessary not only to flip this seat, but also to govern effectively in my first term in Congress. Leadership in divided environments requires patience, discipline, and the ability to bring people together even when they start from very different perspectives.

What also differentiates me is the combination of my professional experience, my lived experience, and my commitment to doing the real work of governing. As a veteran, a foster parent, a mother, and someone who has worked in the private sector, I understand how policy decisions affect people’s lives in practical ways. I am not interested in slogans or performative politics. I believe in doing the hard, often unglamorous work required to actually make change happen.

Jason Knapp

Three things separate me from everyone else in this field.

First, I can take Rob Wittman’s strongest ground away from him. He has spent 18 years building his brand around defense — missile defense architecture, alliance burden-sharing, NATO commitments. I served at NATO Headquarters. I worked directly with the Armed Services Committees on those exact issues. I flew 35 combat missions. He has never faced an opponent who can neutralize that advantage. I can — and that changes the entire electoral dynamic of this race.

Second, I understand how legislation actually gets made — from the inside. As a Defense Legislative Fellow on Capitol Hill, I drafted the Open Burn Pit Registry Act, personally built the coalition that brought 81 bipartisan cosponsors on board through direct outreach to their offices, and navigated the bill through the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee by working the professional staff and understanding how committee procedure and parliamentary process actually function. That bill was incorporated into the law that created the VA’s Burn Pit Registry — the direct foundation of the PACT Act, which has since delivered healthcare to hundreds of thousands of toxic-exposed veterans. I know how to draft a bill, build a coalition, work the staff, and move legislation through the process. I’ve done it.

Third, I have skin in this fight that no one else in this race has. The programs we are fighting to protect — Medicaid, SNAP, the safety net — are not policy positions to me. They are how my family survived. That is not a talking point you can manufacture. Either you lived it or you didn’t.

Combat veteran. Legislative experience. Personal stake. That is what makes this race different — and what makes me the candidate who wins it.

Lewis Littlepage

I’m running for Congress to give voters a real choice. I am not a career politician.  I am and always have been a public servant, serving my county and the people.  I want every voice to be heard. I want to solve issues, not talk or complain about them.  We have real issues that need to be solved: immigration, Social Security Trust Funding going bankrupt, U.S. Postal Service going bankrupt, numerous issues with healthcare, and veterans issues.  I am here to work on problems for all Americans, not red or blue, but red, white and blue.  Congress belongs to the people.  That is who I fight for.

Ericka Kopp

I am the only woman of color running in this race and a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I’m the only person in this race who defends healthcare both for a living and at home. The less obvious, yet foremost part of my candidacy, is that the people of this district inform my policy positions. We hold town halls to listen and learn about the issues most affecting people here and what they need from a government that works for them. With that knowledge, I can confidently advocate for the will of the people. Secondly, I am the only candidate in this race who has pledged to donate $2,000 per month of my congressional salary to nonprofit organizations in the district. Running for Congress isn’t about making money; it’s about serving this community in every way I can.

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