See below for a press release from the Shannon Taylor for Congress campaign (note: Taylor announced recently that she’d be running for the redistricted VA05 “upon passage of new maps”; Rep. Rob Wittman currently represents VA01, but I’m not clear which district he’ll run in – if any – if the redistricting amendment passes):
Shannon Taylor Statement on New Reporting That Rob Wittman Voted to Slash His Own Taxes on His Triple Decker Beach House
HENRICO, VA — Following major new reporting which revealed that Rep. Rob Wittman voted for a tax exemption on his triple decker beach house in the Outer Banks and cut his own taxes by up to $60K – enriching himself through his perch in Congress – Henrico County’s Top Prosecutor and candidate for Congress Shannon Taylor released the following statement:
“Virginia families are worried about the basics: groceries, rent, child care, and the skyrocketing costs of health care – but career politician Rob Wittman is more worried about his own bottom line,” said Taylor. “After nearly twenty years in Washington, Wittman has come to represent everything that’s broken in Washington. Virginians deserve a representative who will defend our communities, not a self-serving politician who puts themselves first. I’ve spent my career putting away criminals and fraudsters that prey on our community and I’m going to take that same fight to Congress to put working families first and hold powerful people accountable.”
After nearly two decades in Washington, Rob Wittman has become the exact kind of career politician voters are sick and tired of — a symbol of everything that’s broken and corrupt in Congress.
- Wittman has “more than tripled” his net worth over nearly two decades in Congress, even as costs continue to rise for Virginia families.
- The Daily Mail reported that Wittman voted for a tax exemption on his triple decker Outer Banks beach house, and now he “could personally save up to an eyewatering $60,000 a year – thanks to his eight-bedroom beach rental.” Wittman’s beach house is reportedly “a $1.5 million, 3,656 sq. ft beach house on the North Carolina Outer Banks, 150 miles from his Virginia district.”
- The Daily Mail reported that Wittman “traded $2.56 million in stocks between 2015 and 2023.”
- Business Insider reported that Wittman bought defense stocks like Lockheed Martin and Honeywell while sitting on the House Armed Services Committee.
- Politico revealed Wittman purchased shares in the pharmaceutical giant AbbVie at the beginning of the pandemic as the company worked on COVID-related treatments.
And it doesn’t stop there: just hours before the government shutdown, Wittman was hosting a high-dollar fundraiser at the Capitol Grille instead of working to prevent families’ health care costs from skyrocketing.
By contrast, Taylor has dedicated her life to protecting Virginians, from locking up dangerous criminals to holding fraudsters accountable. She is committed to cracking down on the corruption that has crippled Washington’s ability to lower costs, protect access to health care, and ensure our government works for the people — not for corporate lobbyists and billionaire donors. She has also pledged to support a ban on congressional stock trading.
About Shannon
Shannon Taylor is a battle-tested prosecutor with 25 years of experience and a 90% conviction rate in homicide cases, taking on the toughest threats to Virginia families and delivering justice. A native of Charlottesville and graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond Law School, she began her career as a prosecutor in Richmond before serving as a Special Assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office. In 2011, she flipped the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office from Republican to Democrat, becoming the first woman elected to the role. She has since been re-elected three times, proving she knows how to win tough races.
As Commonwealth’s Attorney, Taylor has pioneered programs to support victims of human trafficking, created a task force to tackle the opioid epidemic, and led prosecutors statewide in pledging not to criminalize women or doctors for abortion care. She has worked alongside law enforcement to keep families safe, fought fraud that harms working people, and partnered with gun safety advocates to take illegal guns off the streets.
Shannon Taylor has built her career on protecting Virginians and delivering justice for families regardless of their politics.
For more on Shannon Taylor’s campaign, visit ShannonTaylorVA.com.
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