VIRGINIA, USA — Republican Rob Wittman has won the House election in Virginia's 1st Congressional District, defeating Democrat Herb Jones and independent David Foster.
As of 9:20 p.m., Wittman is leading with 60% of the votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. 88% of the precincts are reporting results.
Wittman was first elected to the House in a 2007 special election. He was widely expected to win reelection this year.
Since taking office, he became an expert on shipbuilding in his role as ranking member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces.
Jones ran a campaign that was highly critical of Wittman, especially of the incumbent's vote to not certify electors from Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election. Foster ran as a far-right independent, vowing to "return honor, integrity and respect" back to Congress.
Before the election, political forecasters considered the race in Virginia's 2nd District to be safe for Republicans.
The district spans from Poquoson to the outskirts of D.C.'s suburbs, along with areas to the immediate west of Richmond.