Editor’s note: Watch video of the forum here.
They agreed that health care costs are too high and that prices at the gas pump have been, too.
But that was about it Monday night.
The candidates running for office in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District made their cases to voters — individually — in a town hall forum put on by the Fredericksburg Free Press.
Both Army veterans, Republican Derrick Anderson and Democrat Eugene Vindman each told a crowd of more than 300 people at the Fredericksburg Convention Center why they think they should succeed Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in the 7th District, which includes the Fredericksburg area.
Anderson said he wants to make sure health care is affordable for all Americans, mentioning that his family lacked coverage when he was growing up.
“We didn’t have health care,” he said. “It was too expensive.”
Republican Derrick Anderson speaks during Monday’s town hall, which drew upwards of 300 in attendance.
He also said competition among providers is a good thing.
“When there’s competition amongst healthcare companies, it typically lowers costs and increases the quality of care that you receive,” he said.
Vindman said the Affordable Care Act is “critically important,” and that “constant efforts” to repeal it need to stop.
“We need to maintain that,” he said of the program. “We need to strengthen that.”
He also said the government needs to try to negotiate lower drug prices as it did with insulin, which now costs patients only $35.
“Talk about lowering prices, I mean that’s critical,” Vindman said. “That’s what we need to continue to do. We need to expand that to a whole host of drugs.”
On the subject of fuel, Anderson said fighting in the Middle East generates higher prices.
“There is one thing I can promise you with conflict in the Middle East … is that the more conflict, the more gas is going to keep going up,” he said.
Vindman said he’s pleased to see that gasoline prices have gone below $3 per gallon in the 7th District lately.
“That’s where we need to be,” he said. “That’s the direction we need to keep going.”
The candidates discussed other issues, as well, including war overseas, immigration, abortion rights and Project 2025.
On war in Ukraine, Anderson said we need to support our allies but do it in a smart way.
“A win against Russia is a win for the United States,” he said.
And on immigration, Anderson said that the nation needs to make sure its borders are secure to prevent terrorism and crime, including the importation of the drug fentanyl.
“Every state right now is a border state — because of how the border is being run,” he said.
Asked a question about reproductive rights, Vindman responded that he would support national legislation to ensure Roe v. Wade protections become the law of the land.
Democrat Eugene Vindman said he would work to codify Roe v. Wade as a national law. (Photos by Joey LoMonaco)
“The right to have an abortion, the right to IVF, the right to contraception, these are all things that are under assault,” he said.
Vindman also railed against Project 2025, an ultraconservative blueprint for remaking the federal government.
The document is nearly 900 pages long, but Vindman said he wanted to focus on a section that deals with politicizing and eliminating the federal civil service as it exists now.
Fifteen percent of the 7th District is federal employees, he said, while another six percent are government contractors.
“These are high-paying jobs, and the idea is to eliminate them,” he said. “Can you imagine what that would do to the economy in this area?”
The candidates were asked questions separately by moderator Phil Jenkins, the former editor of The Free Lance-Star. They didn’t appear together or ask one another questions as they might in a competitive debate.
The 7th District seat will be open because Spanberger decided to run for governor instead of seeking re-election.
