Three Fredericksburg-area Democrats vying to oust Republican Rep. Rob Wittman
And they think "dreamers," or immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, should be allowed to stay in the
The winner of Tuesday's primary will advance to November's mid-term election to face
So what makes the primary candidates different?
Santana, a logistics analyst who served as an officer in the
Suddarth, a West Point graduate who served in the
"This is a conservative district, and we need somebody who can appeal to the 20 percent in the middle, and I think I'm the best person to beat
Williams, a strategic analyst for a federal contractor, noted her proposed tax exemption for military veterans, enlisted service members, first responders and teachers. She wants to exempt the first
"It's not like I'm running for
Santana criticized Williams' proposed tax cut, saying it would not pay for itself and result in higher deficits.
"Rather than cutting taxes, we should be looking to raise wages and actually put more money in the pockets of working families," he said. He supports a
The candidates have mainly touted their own attributes rather than attack each other, though Suddarth said Santana played "dirty politics" by misrepresenting his stance on the
"I don't think we should be continuing to invest in fossil fuel infrastructure," Santana said.
But Suddarth said he opposes the
"It's politically easy just to say you're against pipelines, and I'm not going to say that," he said, adding that shutting off pipelines would put gas stations out of business. He noted that he is not accepting donations from
Nationwide, Trump's unpopularity has energized
Suddarth raised
Santana noted that he is a military spouse--his wife serves in the
His campaign's primary focus is on what he described as "working families," which he called an underrepresented constituency. "Every single thing that we talk about is for working families and to better their lives," he said.
Suddarth said he has more business and military experience than his opponents, in addition to more detailed proposals. He said he's been on the record as supporting a ban on assault-style weapons since 1982 and that his main priority is health care for all Americans.
"If we do have a blue, progressive wave in November, we need to strike while the iron is hot," he said.
Williams cited her experience working with federal agencies as an employee for federal contractors. She said she knows how to examine federal contracts to "make sure we are not cheating the American public."
Williams also said her family's past financial struggles give her a different perspective. She and her husband filed for bankruptcy in 2010 after Williams said the couple spent their life savings paying off medical bills for a sick daughter. She said she was in between federal contractor jobs at the time and that filing for bankruptcy was the only option.
"Who better to fight for hard-working men and women ... than someone like me that has gone through the same challenges and struggles," she said.
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