Robert Joseph Wittman[1] (born February 3, 1959) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 1st congressional district since 2007. The district contains portions of the Richmond suburbs and Hampton Roads area, as well as the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.[2] He is a member of the Republican Party.[3]
Rob Wittman | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st district | |
| Assumed office December 11, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Jo Ann Davis |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 99th district | |
| In office January 13, 2006 – December 11, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Albert C. Pollard |
| Succeeded by | Albert C. Pollard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Joseph Wittman February 3, 1959 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kathryn Sisson |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Virginia Tech (BS) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MPH) Virginia Commonwealth University (PhD) |
| Website | House website |
Early life, education and career
Wittman was born in Washington, D.C., the son of adoptive parents Regina C. (née Wood) and Frank Joseph Wittman. His father was of German descent and his mother's ancestors included immigrants from Ireland and Canada.[4] He grew up in Henrico County, Virginia. He attended Virginia Tech as a member of the Corps of Cadets and Army ROTC and studied biology. He did not subsequently serve in the military. While at Virginia Tech, he spent the summers working at a tomato cannery and on a fishing vessel. Also while in college, Wittman was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He earned a master's degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 and a Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002.[5] Wittman worked for 20 years with the Virginia Department of Health. He served as an environmental health specialist and was field director for the Division of Shellfish Sanitation.[6]
Wittman served on the Montross Town Council from 1986 to 1996 and as mayor of the Town of Montross from 1992 to 1996. Two of his major accomplishments in this office were the overhaul of the sewage system and the development of a computerized system for tax billing. From 1996 to 2005, Wittman served on the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors, the last two years as chair. He helped create new libraries and pushed for raises in teacher salaries.
Virginia House of Delegates
In 2005, Wittman was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 99th district. He served on the Agricultural; Chesapeake and Natural Resources; and Police and Public Safety Committees.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
- House Baltic Caucus[8]
- Congressional Constitution Caucus[9]
- United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus[10]
- Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus[11]
- Congressional Public Health Caucus[12]
- Republican Study Committee[13]
Political positions
Wittman co-sponsored a personhood bill in Congress that defined life as beginning at conception.[14]
In 2012, Wittman said he would consider cutting pay and benefits for service members who join the military in the future in order to avoid closing bases or cutting the number of military personnel.[15]
Wittman authored the Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act, designed "to enhance coordination, flexibility and efficiency of restoration efforts," according to Wittman.[16] After several senators sponsored a bill to reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Wittman introduced a version of the bill for House members to consider.[17] He proposed the Advancing Offshore Wind Production Act (H.R. 1398), which he said was designed to simplify the process companies must go through to test and develop offshore wind power.[18]
Immigration
In November 2018, Wittman said that "85 percent [of immigrants] don't show up for a scheduled court hearing or call to schedule a court hearing." PolitiFact found that his claim was false. Wittman said he got the information from Representative Bob Goodlatte, who in turn said he got it from the conservative website Newsmax, which attributed the claim to an anonymous "senior Los Angeles County Sheriff's detective".[19]
Health care
Wittman opposes the Affordable Care Act and has voted to repeal it.[20] He said that Congress should not merely be "anti-Obamacare" and that Congressional Republicans are ready to provide alternatives if it is deemed unconstitutional.[21] In 2017, he voted for the American Health Care Act, which would have repealed and replaced the ACA.[21]
Texas v. Pennsylvania
In December 2020, Wittman was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated[22] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[23][24][25]
Certification of 2020 presidential election
On January 6, 2021, Wittman was one of the 147 Republican members of the U.S. Congress who objected to certifying the 2020 presidential election.[26] He voted against certifying Pennsylvania's electors after a day of violence as the U.S. Capitol was breached by Trump supporters who disrupted proceedings, despite no clear evidence of widespread voter fraud.[27]
Political campaigns
2005
Wittman was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates over Democrat Linda M. Crandell with 62% of the vote.[28]
2007
Wittman was reelected to the Virginia House of Delegates unopposed.
On December 11, 2007, Wittman was first elected to the United States Congress to succeed the late Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, who died in October 2007. He was heavily favored in the special election due to the 1st's heavy Republican bent; it has been in Republican hands since 1977.[29] The Independent candidate was Lucky Narain.
2008
Wittman was elected to his first full term, defeating Democratic nominee Bill Day and Libertarian Nathan Larson.[30]
2010
Wittman was reelected, defeating Democratic nominee Krystal Ball and Independent Green candidate Gail Parker.
2012
Wittman was reelected, defeating Democratic nominee Adam Cook and Independent Green candidate Gail Parker.[21]
2014
Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Norm Mosher, Libertarian Xavian Draper, and Independent Green Gail Parker.[31]
2016
Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Matt Rowe and Independent Green candidate Gail Parker.[32]
2018
Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Vangie Williams.[33] With the Republicans losing their remaining seat based in the Washington suburbs, as well as seats in Hampton Roads and the Richmond suburbs, Wittman was left as the only Republican holding a seat east of Charlottesville.
2020
Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Qasim Rashid.[34]
2022
Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Herb Jones and Independent David Foster.[citation needed]
Electoral history
| Year | Republican | Votes | Pct | Democrat | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Rob Wittman | 42,772 | 61% | Philip Forgit | 26,282 | 37% | Lucky Narain | Independent | 1,253 | 2% | |||||
| 2008 | Rob Wittman | 203,839 | 57% | Bill Day | 150,432 | 42% | Nathan Larson | Libertarian | 5,265 | 1% | |||||
| 2010 | Rob Wittman | 135,564 | 64% | Krystal Ball | 73,824 | 35% | Gail Parker | Independent Green | 2,544 | 1% | |||||
| 2012 | Rob Wittman | 200,845 | 56% | Adam M. Cook | 147,036 | 41% | Gail Parker | Independent Green | 8,308 | 2% | [38] | ||||
| 2014 | Rob Wittman | 131,861 | 62.9% | Norm Mosher | 72,059 | 34.4% | Gail Parker | Independent Green | 5,097 | 2.4% | [39] | ||||
| 2016 | Rob Wittman | 230,213 | 59.8% | Matt Rowe | 140,785 | 36.6% | Gail Parker | Independent Green | 12,866 | 3.3% | [40] | ||||
| 2018 | Rob Wittman | 183,250 | 55.2% | Vangie A. Williams | 148,464 | 44.7% | [41] | ||||||||
| 2020 | Rob Wittman | 260,614 | 58.2% | Qasim Rashid | 186,923 | 41.7% | [42] | ||||||||
| 2022 | Rob Wittman | 197,789 | 56.7% | Herb Jones | 148,884 | 42.5% | David Foster | Independent | 3,391 | 1% |
Personal life
Wittman is a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Montross.[5]
References
External links
- Congressman Rob Wittman official U.S. House website
- Rob Wittman for Congress Archived 2008-06-19 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
- Rob Wittman at Curlie
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart