Derrick Anderson comes by his economic knowledge honestly.
Anderson, the GOP nominee in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District race, recounted Sunday that his mother owned a few restaurants along State Route 3 and a gas station on Princess Anne Street in downtown Fredericksburg.
“So I know that every nickel, every dime, every quarter actually, it means something,” he said.
Anderson, who faces Democratic nominee Eugene Vindman in November, spoke about the economy and other issues between watching a Fredericksburg Nationals game — where he threw out the first pitch — and attending the Grand Celebration Pakistan Day cultural event at the Fredericksburg Convention Center.
He said that he’s been talking to the owners of local grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants, who say the costs they face are causing them to consider raising prices.
“Whether it be energy, whether it be the cost of goods, those are the things that are truly impacting us, and I can’t emphasize that enough,” said Anderson, who was wearing a red campaign polo shirt.
He claimed the sentiment is the same across the 7th District, which includes the Fredericksburg area.
“Business owners there are hanging by a thread, and they are in a position where they want to keep their businesses open, but they’re in a tough spot,” he said. “They’re in a position where they either have to eat the cost, or they have to put the cost on people here in the district.”
The entrepreneurs don’t want to raise prices on their neighbors, said Anderson, but like others across the country, they’re facing that possibility.
“A lot of our local businesses are struggling right now, and so we just want to make that better for them,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Anderson also framed border security as an issue in the 7th District. The border may seem like a long way away from the Old Dominion, but undocumented immigrants have made their way here, he said.
And local sheriffs tell him that some are bringing fentanyl with them, which is causing overdoses in Virginia.
“The border is affecting us,” Anderson said.
He also addressed criticism — especially during the primary election — that fellow Republicans shouldn’t back him because he’s the candidate of the party “establishment.”
“Look,” he said, “at the end of the day, I’m a guy from Spotsylvania County. I’m a guy from Spotsylvania County that has truly lived the American Dream.”
Anderson said he was the first person in his family to graduate from college. Then he went into the Army, became an infantry officer and went to Ranger school. He served in Iraq and has spent time in other parts of the Middle East: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. He made a lot of friends over the years in that area of the world.
He served in the Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery, as well, before becoming a Green Beret and went to law school.
Anderson said he offers “common sense policies, common sense solutions to make sure that the people here in the district where I grew up are actually being taken care of.”
The 7th District seat will be open because current Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, decided to run for governor instead of seeking re-election.
