By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press
HAYES, Va. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman may have spent nearly two decades in Congress, but the Republican is emphasizing the humbler parts of his resume while running for another term this year. His advertisements talk about his work in a tomato cannery and on a fishing boat, and how he commutes to Washington from the same modest home in rural Virginia where he's lived with his wife since 1985.
It's a far different image than the one his Democratic opponent, local prosecutor Shannon Taylor, has been painting for voters in the red-leaning district. She says Wittman is “too busy getting rich" by trading stocks in companies he's supposed to regulate, a characterization he says is false.
Taylor's campaign is one of many that's embracing an anti-corruption message in a midterm year that's otherwise defined by high gas prices, persistent inflation and sinking confidence in the economy. With so much frustration over the cost of living, candidates see an opportunity to argue that incumbents are more interested in looking out for themselves or donors than their constituents. For some Democrats, it's also an indirect way to remind voters of controversies surrounding President Donald Trump’s family business interests.
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