A Republican running for Congress in Virginia went viral after a family photo he used in a campaign ad was not what it seemed.
Derrick Anderson, a veteran, is trying to turn a blue district red in 2024 after its current occupant, Abigail Spanberger, announced she would leave the district to run for governor in 2025.
He recently released a campaign ad that featured images of Anderson with a woman and three younger women, who appeared to be his wife and daughters, in an effort to appeal to female voters and family values.
However, they are not related in any way, as Anderson has admitted that the four are the wife and children of an old friend of Anderson’s.
Anderson even posted a video of him and his fiancé on the campaign trail just weeks before.
A Republican running for Congress in Virginia went viral after a family photo he used in a campaign ad wasn’t what it seemed.
Derrick Anderson, a veteran, is trying to turn a blue district red in 2024 after its current occupant, Abigail Spanberger, announced she would leave the district to run for governor in 2025.
She currently lives with her dog after getting engaged in September.
Liberals on social media accused Anderson of lying about his family status on social media to gain votes.
A Virginia Democrat wrote: “If you think renting a computer to play house will make you relatable, you’ve officially entered the realm of weird, Derrick. Time to get real: you can’t use Photoshop to authenticate!’
‘Derrick Anderson is back on the campaign trail. “I probably shouldn’t keep using My Best Friend’s Girl by The Cars as my campaign song,” another joked.
Someone else also wondered if George Santos was running Anderson’s campaign.
When asked about the response to the images, a spokesperson for Anderson said the attacks were foolish and unfair.
“The politically motivated false report about Derrick, who is happily engaged and very proud of his family, appearing in a regular campaign video with female supporters and their children is both hilarious and sad,” the spokesperson said. HuffPo.
The spokesperson, who described the images as Anderson posing “with his fans and his children,” also told the New York Times This is standard operating procedure.
He recently released a campaign ad that showed images of Anderson with a woman and three younger women, who appeared to be his wife and daughters. Anderson even posted a video of him and his fiancé on the campaign trail just weeks before.
Anderson’s opponent is Democrat Yevgeny ‘Eugene’ Vindman, a native of Ukraine and a key player with his brother Alexander in the first impeachment trial against Donald Trump.
“Derrick’s opponent and every other candidate in America appears in similar photos and videos with supporters of all stripes,” they said.
That opponent is Democrat Yevgeny ‘Eugene’ Vindman, a native of Ukraine and a key player with his brother Alexander in the first impeachment trial against Donald Trump.
The DCCC said in a statement that Anderson is using these women as a way to protect himself from attacks on abortion.
“Derrick Anderson is so desperate to mask his anti-abortion views and look like a family man that he poses for fake family photos,” spokeswoman Lauryn Fanguen said.
“He is clearly not above misleading Virginians and definitely cannot be trusted to represent them in Congress.”
Anderson, who maintains through his spokesperson that he did not lie, recently wrote an op-ed titled: ‘Do you want to lower the temperature in politics? Enough of the lies.’
‘I call on voters to reject the lies and help us unite this country. And when you see that my opponent and his allies are lying, tell them. You will get the truth from me; Demand the truth from my opponent,” he wrote in daily progress.
‘Demand direct answers and zero deception. Don’t let my opponent talk out of both sides of his mouth. It demands truth, it demands character. As voters, they deserve it.
An August poll showed Anderson and Vindman tied at 41% to 41%, according to WJLA.
Cook Political Report calls the races “lean Democratic,” but still called them competitive for Republican Anderson.
Republicans taking back the seat would likely be key to increasing their slim majority in the House of Representatives.