Shannon Taylor

Shannon Taylor graduated from Albemarle High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia in 1989 and a law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1995. Her career experience includes working as a lawyer.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a lifelong Virginian and have dedicated my life to protecting our community. As Henrico's top prosecutor I have tried thousands of cases and put violent criminals, drug traffickers, and abusers behind bars. I pioneered programs to support victims of human trafficking, created a task force to tackle the opioid epidemic, and took illegal guns off the streets. Now, I am running for Congress to prosecute the case against corrupt career politician Rob Wittman -- and make Congress serve the people first.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Fight Washington Corruption: Too many career politicians are using their positions of power not to help people or working families in their districts, but to grow their own personal wealth. In Congress, one of my main priorities will be to implement commonsense legislation that restores trust in our elected officials. Banning members of congress from insider stock trading, closing the revolving door so that politicians can’t become lobbyists after their time in office, and making it mandatory for politicians to serve jail time when they steal taxpayer funds.Lower Costs: Americans are struggling with the rising cost of living. Housing, groceries, healthcare, energy – all the basics of life have gotten significantly more expensive while wages haven't kept pace. Too many families can't make ends meet, and too many people feel like the American dream is out of reach. Our leaders need to step up. But to actually fix this, we have to get to the root of the problem: the political corruption that produces bad policies, protects the powerful, and blocks the solutions that would actually help working families.Ensure Quality, Affordable Healthcare: I will fight to restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Rob Wittman allowed to expire and restore funding for rural hospitals. We must make medical billing transparent so a medical emergency never ends in a devastating and unexpected bill and we must lower the cost of life-saving prescription drugs by expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate directly with big pharmaceutical companies so that no one has to choose between the medication they need or putting food on their table or paying their rent.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As Henrico’s top prosecutor, my major focus has always been holding people accountable when they harm my community. It is time we hold accountable those politicians in Washington who refuse to serve their constituents in favor of enriching themselves and their ultra-wealthy donors.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I have been endorsed by a broad coalition of leaders and organizations including 13 Sheriffs across the commonwealth and I have been endorsed by Governor Abigail Spanberger.

Campaign websiteTaylor's campaign website stated the following:As Henrico County’s top prosecutor, I have dedicated the past 14 years to keeping my community safe. I am proud of my office’s 90% homicide conviction rate and that murder rates have dropped by over 80% in our county in the past year. We have taken murderers, violent criminals, and fraudsters off our streets, bringing justice to thousands of Henrico families. Now we need to go after a different kind of threat that is coming from politicians in Washington – from both parties. Corruption in Washington and the self-interested politicians within it are driving up the cost of everything. When career politicians like Rob Wittman trade stocks using information we don’t have access to, they profit. When they take millions from special interests and vote to protect them, we pay higher healthcare premiums, higher grocery bills, and higher utility bills. When they become lobbyists after leaving office, the corporations they’re supposed to regulate keep calling the shots, and our costs keep climbing. Career politicians like Rob Wittman don’t serve us. They serve themselves and the ultra-wealthy donors who fund them. While they protect a corrupt system that makes them wealthy, the families they claim to represent are left paying the price. I became a prosecutor to keep people safe. As I see what is happening to our community and our country, it has become clear to me that politicians in Congress must be held accountable at this moment. They must be held accountable not just for the corruption, but for what that corruption costs us every single day.Just this year, we have seen multiple Democratic and Republican members of Congress resign in disgrace. We deserve better.That is why, in my first term, I am proposing an agenda to ban stock trading by members of Congress who have information which no other American has access to, to stop the revolving door that allows Washington politicians to cash in on their influence by becoming lobbyists, and to mandate jail time for politicians who break the public trust. I will fight to deliver justice for the people of our district just as I have delivered justice for victims in the courtroom. The stakes are too high, and it costs us too much to let the status quo that Rob Wittman has upheld for nearly 20 years continue.We must put Washington on trial and make Congress serve the people first.“Serve the People First" AgendaSTOP CONGRESS FROM USING THEIR POSITIONS FOR PROFIT AT OUR EXPENSE.Mandatory Jail Time for Politicians that Steal Our Tax Payer Funds.Politicians of both parties in Washington play by different rules. When they break the rules, they are hardly ever caught; even when they are, they even more rarely face any real consequences. That needs to change. Running for office is a choice, and as an elected official, you are asking your friends, neighbors and community to trust you. If you break that trust, the consequences should be consistent and severe. In Congress, my first bill will mandate jail time of at least a year for any current or former member of Congress caught stealing $10,000 in taxpayer funds, including not paying their taxes. No resignations to avoid accountability, no plea deals, no deferred judgment, and no special favors.Ban Members of Congress from Becoming Lobbyists on Behalf of the Corporations They Regulate, for Life.The dictionary definition of “conflict of interest” is “a conflict between the private interests and the official or professional responsibilities of a person in a position of trust.” When a Member of Congress regulates an industry group or corporation that could offer them a high paying lobbying job after they serve – that is a conflict of interest. Too often, former Members of Congress cash in on their influence and relationships to score jobs with the big businesses they are supposed to be regulating. That practice leads to bad decisions when they are in office and bad policy afterward, policies like tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and large corporations while cutting benefits for the rest of us. Anyone who tells you differently just isn’t being honest. That is why I will propose a lifetime federal lobbying ban on those who serve in Congress.Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks Using Information No Other American Has.Members of Congress have access to information that few, if any, other Americans have. In any other sector, using non-public information to trade stocks is “insider trading,” which is a crime usually punishable with jail time. Over his nearly 20 years in Congress, Rob Wittman ballooned his net worth by more than 18 times, from $200,000 to $8.1 million, in part by trading over $2 million in stocks while having access to information no American outside of government has. That’s not right, and it should be illegal. When elected, I will draw a hard line on not buying or selling any stock while in office. Rob Wittman took advantage of the system to his benefit; I will not, and I will not allow such corruption to continue. Our community deserves a Representative and a Congress that they can trust.Restore Trust in Congress by Rejecting Corporate PAC Money.As I have campaigned for Congress, I have heard from voters across the district that they simply do not trust Congress and are outraged that, in an era when corruption is rampant at the federal level, members of Congress accept contributions from corporate PACs. To me, a large part of leadership is listening, and as I work to clean up corruption in DC and restore trust in Congress, I want to do everything to ensure the community I serve can keep trusting me. For that reason, I pledge never to take a dime from corporate PACs, as a candidate for Congress or as a member of Congress. And, I will work to end their influence in Washington.REFORM OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM THAT RAISES OUR COSTS WHILE PROTECTING THEIR DONORS AND THE POWERFULLimit the Pardon Power That Has Been Abused by Both Parties to Create Separate Rules for Their Families and Friends.Justice should apply equally to every American. In Henrico County, the merits of a case determine the consequences a defendant faces, not who their parents, friends, or supporters are. No matter how powerful or well-connected you are, or even if the President is your father, that standard should not change. President Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden was wrong. President Trump’s pardon of Hondorun President Jaun Orlando Hernandez, who helped smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States, was wrong. As a member of Congress, I will support a constitutional amendment to curb the Presidential pardon power, so no President of either party can circumvent the justice system for friends and family.Institute Term Limits for Members of the House, So They Serve Us, Not Themselves.The root of corruption in our system is that when politicians get elected, their sole focus becomes getting reelected and doing what their big donors want to fund their campaigns. Most of those donors lead large corporations or otherwise stand to gain from preferential treatment that grows their bottom line at our expense. Their donors get tax breaks, and we get tax increases. Rob Wittman has spent nearly two decades in Washington and made millions while voting for cost-spiking policies for the rest of us. In my first term, I will propose legislation to enact 12-year term limits in the House. I will also follow that limit myself, whether or not a term limit bill passes. We need fewer career politicians, not more. If you can’t solve the problem in 12 years, give someone else a chance.Overturn Citizens United v. FEC and Force Dark Money Into the Light.There is too much money in our politics, and that means candidates are beholden to those who can write them big checks, rather than the people they are supposed to serve. As a member of Congress, I will fight for campaign finance reform and work to overturn the Citizens United decision that has opened the floodgates of big money. On my first day I will sign on to a constitutional amendment to reduce the ability of special interests to buy our elections and return power to where it belongs, to American citizens. I will co-sponsor the DISCLOSE Act, which would require Super PACs to disclose their biggest donors. Until we reduce the influence of money in politics, we cannot ensure that our leaders serve our best interests and keep our pocketbooks in mind. Until we ensure donor transparency, the people cannot hold their leaders accountable.Hold Illegal Monopolies, Who Raise Our Costs, Accountable.Whether it is big tech companies, big pharma companies, or big banks, corporations have too much power. Corporate monopolies raise our prices and face no accountability. In Congress, I will fight to ensure our markets are competitive by supporting legislation to break up illegal monopolies. This will lead to lower costs and remove the unchecked power currently held by a few large entities.— Shannon Taylor's campaign website (June 25, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Shannon Taylor is a native Virginian, and has always taken on tough fights to help the people of Virginia. Taylor became the first Democrat elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for Henrico County in over 20 years, winning re-election three times with bipartisan support. Taylor knows how to beat powerful interests that get in the way of progress: she’s taken on the gun lobby to reduce illegal guns on our streets, held fraudsters accountable for exploiting seniors and driving up costs, and was one of the first prosecutors in the nation to push back against criminalizing women and doctors for accessing abortions after Roe was overturned, sparking a national movement for other prosecutors to do the same. Virginia needs an Attorney General with prosecutorial experience, a proven record of winning tough fights, and the track record to stand up to Trump and Elon Musk to protect our rights. As Attorney General, Taylor will be a steadfast last line of defense for protecting Virginia’s families, communities, and pocketbooks.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Shannon Taylor will be a steadfast leader to protect Virginians from the chaos coming from the Trump Administration.Shannon Taylor will always stand up to protect abortion rights. After the Dobbs Decision, Shannon was one of the first prosectors in the nation to take action and say that she would never prosecute a woman for seeking abortion access or a doctor for providing abortion access.Shannon will fight to keep Virginians safe. Shannon has served as a prosecutor for nearly 30 years, working to take illegal guns off the streets and hold scammers accountable for targeting the most vulnerable.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Shannon Taylor has lead the fight against hate crimes in Virginia, taking on the KKK and the neo-nazi's who marched on the UVA lawn in Charlottesville. She will always fight to protect our families.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

When Trump and Elon Musk are targeting Virginia families and the federal workers who call Virginia home, we need an Attorney General who will always stand up for the rule of law and has taken on the tough fights to keep our family safe.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

As a prosecutor with nearly 30 years of experience in the court room, Shannon Taylor has taken on the tough fight necessary to go toe-to-toe with the Trump administration.