Republican Derrick Anderson and Democrat Eugene Vindman participated in debate to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District ahead of November’s 2024 general election. The two candidates vying to replace outgoing Representative Abigail Spanberger (D) exchanged ideas at the University of Mary Washington on topics ranging from the U.S. economy to the national security issues the United States faces. UMW Political Science Professor Stephen Farnsworth moderated the debate. Link

“Virginia, based on what we’re seeing from the campaigns, is kind of a second-tier race,” Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, told the Times-Dispatch. “They’ve got to triage,” Farnsworth said. “If they’re going to spend more in Virginia, it means spending less somewhere else.” If money talks, Virginia’s not in play this November (The Daily Progress)

"I don't think inconsistency or false information hurt candidates the way dishonesty or inconsistencies might have hurt them in the past," said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at University of Mary Washington. "In these highly partisan times, it seems like most voters will forgive any shortcomings on their side and view everything done by the other side as an abomination.'' 

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“Virginia elections are often close, and the look ahead to next year suggests more of the same in the campaign for governor,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington and director of UMW’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies. “The big challenge for these potential candidates is becoming better known across the commonwealth.”

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“A write-in campaign benefiting a defeated GOP primary candidate is certainly part of a best-case scenario for a Democratic candidate in District 5,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. 

 
Amid internal GOP feud in the 5th District, Democrat Gloria Witt sees her chance (Virginia Mercury)

But any word in the debate about federal employees could have a big impact on Republican claims that Virginia is in play, University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth said in an email. “Trump may need to address more specifically concerns that a Trump election would mean the wholesale firing of federal employees,” Farnsworth said. Virginia analysts see high stakes seen in Trump-Harris debate (Richmond Times-Dispatch)