Virginia’s 10th Congressional District Spotlight – NBC4 Washington

The candidates for Virginia’s Open 10^Th There are big differences between congressional districts and congressional district seats, including on important issues like abortion and immigration.

Democrat Suhas Subramanyam and Republican Mike Clancy, who are running for Democratic U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s open seat, have very different views on how the country is doing right now.

Clancy, a technology executive and lawyer, says he is running to “restore America.”

“I think we have to fight like we’re in 1776 because if we don’t, we’ll be living like George Orwell’s 1984,” he said.

Subramanyam, who served as a White House technology adviser during former President Barack Obama’s administration, says he wants to use his experience as a delegate and state senator in the General Assembly to find bipartisan solutions.

“I believe in this country and believe that we have faced really great challenges and succeeded, and so I will continue to bring that optimism to Congress,” he said.

Immigration policy is one of the biggest challenges facing the 119th Congress. The candidates agree that the path to legal immigration needs to be streamlined and accelerated. Both support stronger border security, but there is a clear divide when it comes to mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

“In reality, there are more than 15 million undocumented immigrants here,” said Subramanyam, whose parents came to this country from India in the 1970s. “That’s why we can’t deport them all tomorrow. That’s just not realistic. It will be really bad for our economy. Many of them contribute a lot to our economy.”

“I think we’ll focus first on the 10 million who got there illegally,” Clancy said.

“They should be forced to return and follow the legal immigration process,” he said.

Abortion rights are another dividing line.

If elected, Subramanyam would support a federal law codifying Roe v. Wade agree, says Subramanyam.

“It shouldn’t matter what your zip code is, whether you have bodily autonomy, and that’s why I want to make sure we take federal action,” he said.

Clancy says the Dobbs decision was the right one and states should decide.

“Under Dobbs, it was supposed to be a state issue, so I wouldn’t vote for a federal law,” he said.

When it comes to the economy, Clancy calls President Joe Biden’s administration’s policies and spending practices disastrous. He says continuing former President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is critical.

“And those tax cuts four years ago stimulated the economy,” he said. “It created jobs. It created jobs, high paying jobs. Wages rose. Inflation had fallen significantly.”

Subramanyam wants to find ways to boost small businesses and bring more work to the federal government^Th District that includes portions of Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties.

“If we had more ways to give businesses access to capital, I think that would actually be even more important than a tax cut,” he said.

Project 2025 and its controversial proposals are also an issue in this race.

Clancy was a supporter of the Heritage Foundation, whose members drafted the document.

“I know my opponent continues to try to spread fear about Project 2025,” he said. “But I’ve never been involved in it, and I have no idea what’s involved.”

“They may not like the branding, but there are a lot of parallels between what Project 2025 is trying to achieve and what my opponent is trying to achieve,” Subramanyam said.

Democrats have won the 10th District seat in the last three election cycles. Last year, Wexton announced she would not seek re-election after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy.

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