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Ollivant projected to win GOP primary in battleground Virginia district

▶ Watch Video: Primary elections underway in 5 states as Michigan Democrats battle for Senate seat

Republican Douglas Ollivant is projected to win the GOP primary for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. He will face Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman in November. 

Ollivant is a former official at the White House’s National Security Council who graduated from West Point. Vindman also served as a lawyer on the National Security Council, and he and his twin brother, Alex Vindman, drew national attention for their role in President Trump’s first impeachment in 2019.

The district is considered a battleground district, although its two most recent U.S. representatives have been Democrats. Vindman beat his Republican opponent by less than three points in 2024. 

Vindman has raised over $12 million, while his potential Republican challengers didn’t come close to $1 million, according to federal election data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project ahead of the primaries. 

The district spans from north of Richmond to parts of northern Virginia. In May, the Virginia Supreme Court overturned a redistricting amendment that the state’s voters had passed in April. The amendment would have allowed the districts to be drawn mid-decade. The median household income in the district, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is $113,690, above the median household income for the commonwealth. 

Vindman, a retired U.S. Army officer, is campaigning on addressing the cost of living, holding public officials to stricter ethics standards and supporting service members and veterans, while opposing Mr. Trump’s handling of the war with Iran. Ollivant has also run on cost-of-living issues, including energy prices and housing affordability, and has said the district needs “more jobs, better jobs.”

Woman told House panel that Gomez sexually assaulted her, attorneys say

Washington — A woman told the House Ethics Committee that Rep. Jimmy Gomez sexually assaulted her, according to her attorneys, a claim that comes as the panel investigates sexual misconduct allegations against the California Democrat.The bipartisan committee said Monday that it's looking into allegations against Gomez, including that he engaged "in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer." Gomez acknowledged in a statement Monday that he "made personal mistakes outside my marriage" and that his "actions were consensual in nature." The attorneys for the unnamed woman pushed back on the assertion that Gomez's actions were consensual. "We represent one of the women who was interviewed by the House Committee on Ethics about her experience of sexual harassment and assault by Representative Jimmy Gomez. Contrary to Representative Gomez's assertion in his statement, his actions were not 'consensual in nature' with respect to our client. We fully expect that the House Committee on Ethics will come to the same conclusion in its investigation," said her attorneys, Lisa J. Banks and Sarah E. Nesbitt. CBS News has reached out to Gomez's office for comment on the allegations. Banks and Nesbitt did not identify their client, and CBS News has not verified her claims.In his statement earlier this week, Gomez said he was "ready to cooperate with the Ethics Committee inquiry and provide it with whatever information it might need." "Out of respect for my family and the ongoing process, I will have no further comment," he added. House Democratic leaders called the allegations "serious and disturbing." "We encourage the Committee to conduct a thorough and swift investigation," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement Wednesday. In announcing the probe on Monday, the Ethics Committee said that "[n]o other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules."The investigation comes as the House is poised to consider legislation to overhaul the chamber's ethics rules. The proposal would, among other things, ban lawmakers from having sexual relationships with any congressional staffers, not just those under their direct supervision.
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