August 21, 2026

The morning after the 2024 presidential election, I woke up with a pit in my stomach. My 30 years in science and media led me to one conclusion — that the country was headed for a dark place unseen in my lifetime — far worse than in Trump’s first term.

This feeling motivated me to get more involved and help bring positive change. I joined the Chesterfield County Democratic Committee, started to meet people, ask questions, and learn about the structure of the party at the local, state, and national level.

My first goal was to be certain that my congressman, Rob Wittman, would be defeated in 2026. Trump only won my home district by 5 points, so I believed Wittman would be increasingly vulnerable as the administration wore on. And that is the case.

Wittman's courage to stand and defend the Constitution has evaporated in the last 18 months, and he has devolved into an enabling Trump lackey. Wittman has consistently hid from his constituents after voting to defund healthcare and basic food assistance for his most vulnerable constituents — while enriching himself and the Epstein class through The Big Ugly Bill. Wittman is still hiding behind flowery press releases, abdicating his oversight role in Congress, and letting Trump run roughshod over our economy, our allies, and our future. My friends at Wittman Watch continue to document his horrific record.

After many conversations, I decided to run for that seat — Virginia’s First Congressional District. Several strong candidates subsequently entered the field, and rather than dilute the vote, I suspended my campaign, confident that a strong candidate would emerge to carry the Democratic banner in the fall of 2026.

Once I met with all of the candidates, I supported Salaam Bhatti in the primary. He was a political newcomer like me, so I got to know him and his positions very well. He is genuine, honest, brilliant, and he also has a great sense of humor.

In the primary, Bhatti finished second to Shannon Taylor, the Commonwealth’s Attorney from Henrico County. I often think of a primary as picking your favorite quarterback to lead a football team. And like any team, there will be people you might favor more than others — that is simply human nature.

But it is a team. And it becomes imperative to support the team, marshal the resources, and meet the team’s goal.

And the goal is to vote Rob Wittman out of office. Governor Spanberger won the precincts in this congressional district by more than 2 points last fall, and there is no reason to think Taylor cannot do the same.

Taylor has strong legacy support for a reason. She has served as Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney — the county’s top prosecutor — for 14 years. She has built the connections and resources necessary for a successful campaign to defeat Wittman, and that will allow her to move quickly with legislation once she takes office.

She will restore the healthcare tax credits and funding for Virginia’s rural hospitals that Wittman voted to eliminate. Additionally, she will join the fight to ban congressional insider trading, institute congressional term limits, protect Social Security and Medicare, and hold the hideous Trump administration to account for their actions.

Without question or hesitancy, I support and endorse Shannon Taylor for Congress.

Remember, staying on the sidelines is not just a vote for Wittman. Staying on the sidelines is a vote for Trump.