7th Congressional District Republican Candidates Tout Their Pro-Military Bona Fides
‘Our veterans and service members deserve the best we can offer’
By Hugh Lessig
ADVANCE MILITARY COLUMNIST
Rep. Eugene Vindman recently shared his views on the defense spending blueprint that cleared the House Armed Services Committee, legislation that would affect thousands of service members and their families in the greater Fredericksburg area.
The debate over defense spending and other issues will only get hotter as the political season turns from summer to fall, and Vindman will face one of three Republicans who want to unseat him.
Those three potential challengers will face off in the GOP primary on Aug. 4. That might seem like a long way off, but early voting is now underway, and it’s never too early to know the candidates. All three recently shared their thoughts on how they would approach military, defense and veterans issues in the Fredericksbug area and surrounding Seventh District.
They are presented here in alphabetical order.
Philip Harding
The son of a pastor, Harding is an entrepreneur, educator and businessman. He went from being home-schooled to earning undergraduate and master’s degrees from Harvard University. He was elected student president at the Ivy League school while living in California, campaigning online.
Harding worked as an adviser to federal agencies, including the Pentagon, before co-founding Impact Junkie, an initiative that seeks to empower investors and entrepreneurs to realize their dreams. Harding says that quest has taken him to countries around the world.
Closer to home, Harding said he wants to bring private-sector innovation into the public sector. At the Pentagon, he worked on projects to improve access to the tools that warfighters need and a demonstration called “Hack the Pentagon” designed to improve secure networks.
He favors cutting regulations that block small business growth, expanding access to capital, and tax relief. All three would resonate with defense contractors in the region.
“Our veterans and service members deserve the best we can offer,” he said. “I would love to see more opportunities to empower small businesses. I’ve seen the innovation that can happen.”
One project Impact Junkie focused on involved Special Forces soldiers who were making the transition into the civilian world and helping them cope with a new set of challenges.
Harding says he is a strong supporter of the Love Lives On Act, legislation now pending before Congress. As it stands now, the surviving spouse of a fallen service member typically loses certain survivor benefits if they remarry before age 55. The legislation would allow them to retain these benefits regardless of when they remarry.
“If anyone should continue to receive government support, it’s them,” Harding said. “It’s horrific if a widow chooses to get remarried before 55 that they lose benefits.”
Harding lives in Prince William County. He is married with three children.
Doug Ollivant
Ollivant is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who served two combat tours in Iraq and advised coalition forces in Afghanistan. He has taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point and served at a director level at the National Security Council.
Ollivant says he wants to champion a “manufacturing renaissance” that will lift up small businesses and invigorate the entire defense industrial base, and not just the big players on the stage.
“I would love policies that promote small shops,” he said. “We need young Virginians to figure out how they can tie into the supply chains of these very large defense conglomerates.”
As of June 30, the Pentagon is barred from contracting with companies whose lobbyists are linked to the Chinese military. This week, House and Senate lawmakers wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, urging him to take an aggressive approach to implementing the ban.
Ollivant sees this an opportunity. As large defense contractors look to reduce dependence on China, it will create opportunities for smaller, local businesses to step in.
“They can specialize and move into the supply chain,” he said. “That’s the kind of manufacturing we need. Then we build a service sector around that.”
On veterans’ issues, he strongly supports the Major Richard Star Act, ending what some call the “wounded veteran tax.”
Under current law, some veterans with combat-related injuries see their retirement pay reduced dollar-for-dollar in relation to disability benefits they receive. This affects more than 50,000 combat-injured military retirees, according to Veterans of Foreign Wars. The act would end the trade-off and allow these veterans to receive their full retirement and disability benefits.
Ollivant lives in Culpeper County on the banks of the Rappahannock River with his wife, their dog, and chickens. A father of seven and grandfather of two, he says this ties him to the rural area of the district while being familiar with the challenges of military bases and the business sector.
Rick Smithers
Smithers faces a unique challenge in running for Congress in the Seventh District. He lives in the Ninth District.
Had he stayed in his home district, Smithers would have faced Rep. Morgan Griffith, a fellow Republican. Smithers said Griffith is doing a fine job, and he had no intention of opposing him.
Meanwhile, issues facing voters in the Seventh District are similar to ones facing all Virginians, Smithers said, calling the Seventh “a battleground district.”
Smithers has run his own small construction company for 30 years. He said when he felt called by God to serve as a pastor, he built a church with his own hands.
Smithers said he has always been interested in politics, and launched an unsuccessful bid for the Franklin County Board of Supervisors in 2019. Now he is learning about the Seventh District and said he likes what he sees.
“My wife and I go up there about three times a week,” he said. “They have welcomed us with open arms. I don’t think I’ve met one person who has been rude.”
If he wins the Aug. 4 primary, Smithers said he would establish a residence in the Seventh District.
“We would have to be there every day, campaigning and talking to the people,” he said. “I want to hear their concerns. What they’re facing, every other district is facing the same things.”
Smithers served in the Virginia Army National Guard and did an active-duty stint in the famed 101st Airborne Division. His son and daughter-in-law are both veterans. He thinks that President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are doing a great job.
He said it’s important that every defense dollar be spent wisely, and he would be on the lookout for price-gouging and other wasteful measures in defense spending.
“Just because it falls in the defense budget shouldn’t be an excuse to spend the money,” he said. “But having said that, readiness must come first.”
***
Do you have an idea for a military- or defense-themed story? Send an email to hlessig@yahoo.com.