Culpeper Resident Wins GOP Primary, Setting Up Clash with Vindman in the 7th
THE FXBG ADVANCE WEDNESDAY 8/5/26 AFTERNOON READ
By Hugh Lessig, ADVANCE MILITARY COLUMNIST
Republican Doug Ollivant easily won his party’s nomination in the 7th Congressional District Tuesday and will face Democratic incumbent Rep. Eugene Vindman.
In a three-way race, the Culpeper County resident grabbed more than 56 percent of the vote. Entrepreneur Philip A. Harding from Prince William County tallied 31 percent. Coming in third was Ricky Smithers, who lived outside the district. His longshot bid netted him about 13 percent of the vote.
The results are posted on the Virginia Department of Elections website and are considered unofficial until formally certified.
Tuesday’s results set up a showdown between two retired U.S. Army officers.
Ollivant is a retired 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.
Vindman served as an infantry officer and paratrooper, including assignments in the 82nd Airborne Division. He transitioned to the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps and was a legal adviser at the National Security Council. He retired as a colonel.
The 7th is considered a battleground district. Vindman won the seat two years ago with 51 percent of the vote. He succeeded Abigail Spanberger, who went on to become governor.
Ollivant, who lives on the banks of Rappahannock River, said his background resonated with voters across the 7th District.
“I live in Culpeper on the rural side of the district,” he said, “but I think my background, my resume, and my education spoke very well to the I-95 corridor.”
In an interview with the FXBG Advance before the election, Ollivant said he wanted to champion a “manufacturing renaissance” to lift small businesses and invigorate the area’s defense industrial base.
“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.”
He supports an all-of-the-above energy policy that would include small, modular nuclear reactors and natural gas as well as other sources. He said a coherent energy policy is more urgent than ever as power-hungry data centers expand across the state.
He’s also emphasized the need for a healthy and continuous food supply, strengthening the link between farmers and consumers, and housing affordability.
Asked how he stacks up against Vindman, Ollivant said his opponent “has not been present for the district” and has made a token effort at constituent service.
He criticized Vindman for saying he would compete in a reconfigured 1st District under a redistricting plan put forth by Virginia Democrats. That plan was later rejected by the courts.
In a statement issued after last night’s results, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee warned that Ollivant would march in lockstep with congressional Republicans who support the Iran war, reductions in healthcare and other unpopular cuts.
