# Rob Wittman

Robert Joseph Wittman (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. He is a member of the Republican Party.

## 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. He grew up in Henrico County, Virginia. He attended the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (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. 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.
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
### Tenure

In October 2021, Business Insider reported that Wittman had violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, a federal transparency and conflict-of-interest law, by failing to properly disclose up to $60,000 worth of stock trades in companies including Johnson & Johnson, Royal Gold Inc., and TJX Companies.

### Committee assignments

* Committee on Armed Services (Vice Chair)
** Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces (Chair)
** Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
* Committee on Natural Resources
** Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs

### Caucus memberships

* House Baltic Caucus
* Congressional Constitution Caucus
* United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
* Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus
* Congressional Public Health Caucus
* Republican Study Committee
* Congressional Blockchain Caucus
* Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
* Rare Disease Caucus

## Political positions

Wittman co-sponsored a personhood bill in Congress that defined life as beginning at conception.
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.
Wittman authored the Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act, designed "to enhance coordination, flexibility and efficiency of restoration efforts," according to Wittman. 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. 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.

### Health care

Wittman opposes the Affordable Care Act and has voted to repeal it. He said that Congress should not merely be "anti-Obamacare" and that congressional Republicans are ready to provide alternatives if it is deemed unconstitutional. In 2017, he voted for the American Health Care Act, which would have repealed and replaced the ACA.

### 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 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.

### 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. 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.

## Political campaigns
### 2005

Wittman was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates over Democrat Linda M. Crandell with 62% of the vote.

### 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. The Independent candidate was Lucky Narain.

### 2008

Wittman was elected to his first full term, defeating Democratic nominee Bill Day and Libertarian Nathan Larson.

### 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.

### 2014

Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Norm Mosher, Libertarian Xavian Draper, and Independent Green Gail Parker.

### 2016

Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Matt Rowe and Independent Green candidate Gail Parker.

### 2018

Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Vangie Williams. 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.

### 2022

Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Herb Jones and Independent David Foster.

### 2024

Wittman defeated Democratic nominee Leslie Mehta.

## Electoral history

Virginia's 1st congressional district: Results 2007–2024 :
| 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% |
| 2014 | Rob Wittman | 131,861 | 62.9% | Norm Mosher | 72,059 | 34.4% | Gail Parker | Independent Green | 5,097 | 2.4% |
| 2016 | Rob Wittman | 230,213 | 59.8% | Matt Rowe | 140,785 | 36.6% | Gail Parker | Independent Green | 12,866 | 3.3% |
| 2018 | Rob Wittman | 183,250 | 55.2% | Vangie A. Williams | 148,464 | 44.7% | | | | |
| 2020 | Rob Wittman | 260,614 | 58.2% | Qasim Rashid | 186,923 | 41.7% | | | | |
| 2022 | Rob Wittman | 197,789 | 56.7% | Herb Jones | 148,884 | 42.5% | David Foster | Independent | 3,391 | 1% |
| 2024 | Rob Wittman | 269,657 | 56.31% | Leslie C. Mehta | 208,445 | 43.53% | Write-in | 804 | 0.17% | |

## Personal life

Wittman is an Episcopalian and a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Montross.