The University of Mary Washington will host a public political debate between candidates for Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. Derrick Anderson (R) and Eugene Vindman (D) will face off in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium.
The debate is being hosted by Mary Washington’s Student Government Association. It is co-sponsored by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, The Free Lance-Star and the League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area. The event is free and no tickets are required. Viewing also is available via Zoom at https://go.umw.edu/2024debate. (The Oct. 2 debate also was broadcast live from UMW by C-SPAN. Watch the broadcast.)
UMW Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth, who also serves as director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, will moderate the debate. He will join fellow UMW Professor of Political Science Rosalyn Cooperman, who chairs the department; WFVA Radio News Director Ted Schubel; and Jake Womer, managing editor at The Free Lance-Star, in asking questions of the candidates. Audience members will be able to submit questions for consideration before the start of the event.
A native of Spotsylvania County, Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Tech and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. He served in the U.S. Army, including as a Special Forces “Green Beret,” from 2006 to 2014, completing five deployments – to Afghanistan, Bahrain, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon.
Anderson also has worked on civil and criminal cases as a clerk for two federal judges, and in the White House during the administration of former President Donald Trump in the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He currently serves as a major in the Army National Guard.
Anderson lives in Spotsylvania with his dog, Ranger, a dalmatian.
Born in Ukraine, Eugene Vindman attended public school in Brooklyn, New York, and earned a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Binghamton, a master’s degree from Central Michigan University and a juris doctorate from the University of Georgia.
Vindman is a retired colonel who served in the U.S. Army from 1997 to 2022, including in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he traveled across the country and worked as a prosecutor. Vindman also served as a legal advisor for the U.S. National Security Council.
He lives in Woodbridge with his wife, Cindy. The couple has two children.
Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District spans much of Central and Northern Virginia, including all of Fredericksburg City and all or part of the counties of Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Orange, Caroline, King George, Greene, Madison and Albemarle. Incumbent Abigail Spanberger (D), who first was elected to represent the Seventh District in 2018, is vacating the seat to run for the office of Virginia governor.
The following items are not allowed in the debate venue:
- Vape pens
- Food/Beverages
- Backpacks
- Pyrotechnics
- Weapons
- Banners or signs
- Disruptive behavior
