Republican Congressman Rob Wittman and Democratic nominee, human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid, faced off on Monday night in a forum hosted by University of Mary Washington. Which candidate came out on top in this first face-off?

The debate began with opening statements from each candidate, and those statements served as introductions to the two candidates that really set the tone for the rest of the night. 

“This is not a left versus right debate or liberal versus progress debate,” said Rashid during his opening statement. “This is who is fighting for working families, as I have my entire life, versus who is for corporations, to get them more tax cuts while small businesses struggle.”

Rashid’s opening statement displayed exactly what he and what his campaign are about: helping people. As a human rights lawyer, he has taken pro bono cases to help those in need, and, throughout his campaign, he has continually advocated for “compassion through action”.

“The best ideas don’t come from inside the thirty square miles of fantasyland we call Washington,” said Wittman. “But it’s from the folks right here in the First District.”

Wittman’s statement might sound good to those unfamiliar with his brand of politicking, but the reality is that this is his usual rhetoric. And it is rhetoric that he doesn’t live up to; he does not listen to constituents. Wittman is known for not holding town halls and passing off meetings with constituents to staff. Personally, I lived in Wittman’s district for more than a decade and recently moved to Congressman Gerry Connolly’s district. I have seen Connolly more in the past two years than I have seen Wittman in my entire life.

The candidates answered questions related to COVID-19, jobs, healthcare, business, the environment, energy, and more.

During his answer to the first question relating to Coronavirus, Rashid quickly noted that Wittman has only used his public health experience to buy stock in COVID-19 treatment. In a separate issue, he went on to compare his own response to the COVID-19 pandemic to Wittman’s, citing his own public statements at the beginning of the pandemic before a single American died.

Wittman responded by claiming that he has shared more information on COVID-19 “than any other member of Congress” and then went on to interrupt his opponent during his due rebuttal, claiming that he was speaking out of turn. Wittman was corrected by the moderator, and Rashid was allowed to continue with his rebuttal.

Wittman also recently began running ads that have attacked his opponent for his faith. Rashid is a devout Muslim, and he has cited that Wittman’s TV ads refer to him as “radical” and try to tie him to terrorism. These ads come after a North Carolina resident was convicted of death threats against Rashid and his family. Wittman also recently refused to vote for a House resolution that would have condemned acts of hatred and bigotry against Asian Americans.

Wittman answered a question regarding climate change and environmentalism by advocating for clean energy and nuclear power, noting how, as a scientist, he has sided against President Donald Trump on certain environmental issues. He used the rest of his time given to answer this question to claim that the Green New Deal Act would ban cows and airplanes. 

Credit where credit is due, Wittman has opposed Trump on certain environmental issues, but he also sided with Trump in voting against funding the Environmental Protection Agency and with requiring regulations on certain chemicals. Overall, Wittman votes with Trump around 92% of the time.

Throughout the debate, Wittman repeatedly refused to state that climate change is a man-made issue. He did, however, take a swing at his opponent for his past silence on rural broadband, an ironic attack considering Wittman never mentioned the issue before 2018.

“Qasim Rashid is running a people-focused campaign to bring real change to the First Congressional District including reliable broadband, affordable healthcare, and an inclusive economy,” said Elizabeth Cameron, Vice Chair of the Stafford Democratic Committee “Rob Wittman has been in office for nearly a decade and he has accomplished nothing for the people of this district. It was only after Democratic challenger Vangie Williams started talking about broadband that Wittman put together a task force. The results? Dither and delay. Meanwhile, parents are struggling to educate their students as a result of Wittman’s gross neglect.”

During the debate, Wittman continually lied about his own record and Rashid’s record, used right-wing fabrications about legislation like the Green New Deal, refused to address climate change as a man-made issue despite claiming to be a scientist, and seemed unfamiliar with the rules of the debate–rules that he agreed to.

On the other hand, Rashid maintained his composure during every single attack Wittman hurled at him, corrected his opponent on the outlandish lies, asked for clarification on purposely vague statements, and showed his passion for compassion.

Qasim Rashid clearly displayed what makes him the better choice to represent the people of Virginia’s First District. He cares about people–not businesses and ships. He cares about legislation that will help the rural, suburban, and urban parts of the district by bringing broadband internet, increased access to healthcare, and (according to his website) “dad jokes”. But just as importantly, he showed that he’s above cheap, unprincipled personal attacks.