Shannon Taylor
Shannon Taylor, a Democrat who has served as commonwealth's attorney for Henrico County, Virginia, since 2012, faces Republican incumbent Rob Wittman for Virginia's 1st congressional district in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Shannon Taylor.
- Born
- November 17, 1967
- Education
- Albemarle High School
University of Virginia (1989)
University of Richmond School of Law (Juris Doctor, 1995)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Shannon Taylor, whose full name is Shannon Leigh Taylor, was born on November 17, 1967. She is an alumna of Albemarle High School, graduated from the University of Virginia in 1989, and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1995.
Career
Taylor entered elected office in 2011, when the incumbent Henrico County commonwealth's attorney, Wade A. Kizer, suspended his candidacy for a fifth term.
She announced her campaign on August 11, 2011, with 11 weeks remaining, and won with 25,975 votes against Bill Janis, who received 21,540, and Matthew Geary, who received 9,045. She became the first woman to hold the position in Henrico County.
Taylor won a second term in 2015 against prosecutor Tony Pham and a third in 2019 against Owen Inge Conway with 62.68% of the vote. She serves as president of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys.
In office, Taylor requested a special prosecutor in 2013 for a case involving Joe Morrissey, and in June 2020 she announced a new deputy for police integrity to review accusations of police use of force.
That same month her office charged a Ku Klux Klan leader who drove his truck into a crowd of protesters in Henrico, and he was later sentenced to six years in prison. Taylor announced a campaign for Virginia attorney general in 2024 and lost the 2025 Democratic primary to state delegate Jay Jones.
2026 race
Shannon Taylor announced her candidacy for Virginia's 1st congressional district in September 2025, having first launched a campaign in the 5th district as redrawn under the 2026 Virginia redistricting amendment, which the Supreme Court of Virginia later struck down.
In the Democratic primary on August 4, 2026, she won 52.8% of the vote against six other candidates, with attorney Salaam Bhatti second at 19.9%.
In the November 3, 2026, general election she faces Republican Rob Wittman, who first won the seat in a 2007 special election and was re-elected with 56.3% in 2024.