Businessman Herb Jones and lawyer Leslie Mehta are vying for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District.
The winner of the June 18 primary will face the Republican incumbent Rob Wittman in the general elections. Wittman has held the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007.
The district includes parts of suburban Richmond, through York and James City counties, Williamsburg and Poquoson.
Jones previously served three terms as New Kent County Treasurer. Mehta has not held elected office.
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Jones, 64, is a retired Army colonel who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the CEO of Pyramid Technologies, LLC.
Jones said he is running for office because he sees “a lot of people hurting” and wants to help his community. He also fears for the country’s democracy.
“If we collectively make the wrong decision this November, the United States, even though we are the most powerful country on Earth, will go the way of the Roman Empire,” he said. “We have to save democracy.”
Jones believes no president should be above the law. If elected, he said he would use his role to help keep the president’s powers in check. He also supports term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices.
Jones identified women’s rights as another priority. He supports the Equal Rights Amendment, which would change the U.S. Constitution to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, and would vote in favor of codifying abortion rights into federal law.
“Women should have the right to make their own decisions,” he said. “I will fight for women to have total and complete autonomy over their own health care.”
Explaining that his wife previously worked as a principal, Jones said he is also committed to education. He wants to raise taxes on the country’s wealthiest citizens and use some of that revenue to raise teacher salaries and fund schools.
“We are the most powerful country on the planet, but we have millionaires and multimillionaires who are not paying their fair share,” he said.
Jones and Mehta raised $118,250 and $135,261 as of March 31, respectively, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. VPAP is a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks campaign donations.
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Mehta, 47, is chief of staff and counsel for the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Previously, she served as legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.
Mehta was a member of Governor Ralph Northam’s Commission to Examine Racial and Economic Inequality in Virginia Law.
She currently serves on the Virginia Rare Disease Council, which advises Governor Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly. Their 5-year-old daughter, Brooke, died in 2021 from Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disease.
“Before she passed away, I started doing a lot more work in the areas of rare diseases, disability rights, accessibility and healthcare spaces,” she said. “I worked to ensure bipartisan legislation for Rett syndrome and funding rare disease research at the federal level – that led me to more advocacy.”
Mehta felt that running for public office would be the natural next step. If she is elected, she said securing more funding to improve the accessibility and affordability of health care would be a top priority.
She also supports codifying abortion rights into federal law and offering protections for other forms of reproductive health care.
“We know what happened recently in Alabama and the attack and attack on in vitro fertilization,” she said. “We’re at a point where there are attacks on things like birth control.”
Mehta said he would also work to address climate change by supporting measures that support the environment, such as legislation to protect air quality or the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways, and invest in climate resilience strategies.
Mehta added that he believes Congress needs “adults back in the room” who can be civil when they disagree. She said she would treat others with respect.
“I have worked with (Republican) Governor Glenn Youngkin on rare diseases and currently serve on his board,” she said. “I don’t agree with him on everything and I’m certainly a proud Democrat, but I’m also a proud pragmatist and I want to be able to get things done.”
Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com
