As with many voters heading to the polls in November, people in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District are choosing between two candidates with different ideas about how to improve the economy and address the affordability crisis.
Shannon Taylor, the Virginia 1st District Democratic nominee, said in a statement to Dogwood that if elected she’ll fight to lower costs, grow new jobs, and make things more affordable.
Taylor says she supports restoring the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that Republicans like her opponent, Rep. Rob Wittman, ultimately allowed to expire.
“As Rob Wittman has gotten richer in Washington and voted to cut critical programs that put food on the table and keep costs down, working families are falling behind,” Taylor said. “They can’t afford groceries, healthcare is too expensive, and gas prices are up.”
There was a big debate last year about these “enhanced premium tax credits” that helped bring down the costs of health coverage through the ACA marketplace.
Democrats wanted to extend this healthcare subsidy as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but Republicans, who control Congress, let them expire at the end of last year.
Experts warned that ending the tax credits would make health coverage more expensive for many people, including some who would not be able to afford it at all. And those warnings are playing out in Virginia.
There were 94,000 fewer people enrolled in ACA health plans in Virginia as of Sept. 2 compared with the same time a year ago, the Virginia Mercury reported. And healthcare costs in Virginia are “skyrocketing,” VPM reports.
Tariffs
Taylor also wants to push back against Trump administration tariffs that have pushed up the cost of living. Taylor did not specify how.
Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that for every percentage point increase in average tariffs, consumer goods prices increase by about a quarter of a percent after one year. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates that Trump’s tariffs will cost households $920 in 2026.
Taylor contrasted her economic agenda with the record of her opponent Republican Rep. Rob Wittman. Taylor attacked Wittman for supporting cuts to the social safety net and support for the Iran war that’s pushed up gas and diesel prices.
Wittman did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
