RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- With the balance of power in Washington at stake in this year’s midterm elections, congressional candidates in Virginia are laying out their visions for the state and the nation.  8News Capitol Bureau Reporter Tyler Englander sat down with incumbent Republican Congressman Rob Wittman, who’s seeking reelection in Virginia's First Congressional District. Wittman said he’s proud of what he’s accomplished in Congress, but that there’s more work to do. “We’ve worked on issues to lower costs, to strengthen our economy and our businesses, to make sure we’re supporting veterans and military families, protecting the Chesapeake Bay, supporting law enforcement, and also helping localities,” Wittman said. Wittman said that, if he’s re-elected, he’ll continue to focus on affordability.  “We need to bring down energy prices -- so producing more United States energy, having more capacity to refine those products, to make sure we’re not at the mercy of world supply," Wittman said. "We wanna make sure, too, that we’re addressing the cost of electric energy, how are we using an all-of-the-above energy policy. Wanna make sure, too, that we are helping folks in certain sectors like the home building sector who struggle with massive amounts of regulations.” On inflation being on the rise since Republicans took control of the White House, House of Representatives and Senate, Wittman partly blamed former president Joe Biden and highlighted what Republicans have done to reduce costs. Englander asked: “What’s your message to Virginia voters who feel like they gave Republicans control of the branches of government to tackle affordability, but haven’t?” “Well, listen, we're still dealing with residual effects from the previous administration," Wittman said. "What we're trying to do is to change the policies there to reduce the amount of regulations that go into driving prices, produce more energy here ... the main driver in that inflation number is energy." On the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Wittman voted for, Wittman said provisions like no tax on tips and overtime will benefit Virginians. “The challenge for working families today is that expandable income -- what do they have that they can actually use to buy groceries, to buy fuel?" Wittman said. "We wanna make sure they have more in their pocket; reducing their tax burden does a lot to do that."  When asked about the Congressional Budget Office’s finding that the law -- which includes new work and activity requirements for the Medicaid expansion population and more -- will “increase by 10 million the number of people without health insurance in 2034,” Wittman defended his vote.  Englander asked: “What’s your message to Virginians who may lose their health insurance as the result of a bill that you voted for?” “The reforms are very simple," Wittman said. "I want to make sure that we are gathering resources where waste, fraud and abuse is occurring and make sure that they’re there for the people that need Medicaid. Those numbers there are for folks that should be in the workforce, and we want them to work. That’s what this nation is built upon, is making sure those folks have the opportunity to work, and we wanna make sure that this is an assist for folks.”  Next week, 8News will sit down with Wittman’s Democratic opponent, Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor.  Our full interview with Rep. Wittman, which includes more on affordability, the One Big Beautiful Bill, healthcare, the war in Iran, data centers, election integrity and immigration, can be watched below. Note: In the full interview at the 4:01 mark, Englander misspoke when he said, “Now, inflation in July 2025 is at 3.4%.” That represents inflation in July 2026.  ...read more read less