Entrepreneur Philip Harding joins a crowded Republican field running for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. Living in the Commonwealth for the past decade, Harding is a faith-driven Republican whose campaign centers on strengthening families, helping businesses thrive, and attacking the national debt.
The Republican primary will occur on Aug. 4, 2026.
Here’s what you need to know about the Republican hopeful.
Age
Philip Harding, 42, was born on Oct. 16, 1983.
Hometown
Born in Lompoc, California, and grew up in the Golden State until moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harding has been living in Virginia for 11 years.
Education
Harding is a first-generation college graduate. Starting at community college, he then became a distance student at Harvard University. He was convinced to run for office in the Harvard Extension School and campaigned while living 3,000 miles away in California. Harding became the first distance student to win student body president in the university’s history. He and his wife moved to Cambridge to complete his master’s degree, where he later became Harvard-wide student body president and gave his Harvard commencement address.
Family and religion
Harding can retrace his family history in America back to the Revolutionary War. His mother is from Arizona, and his father, a pastor, is from Indiana. A strong Christian faith is central to his life and decisions. Harding has been married to his wife for 21 years, and they share three children: a 14-year-old girl and two boys, aged 11 and 7. Harding says, “Our family is everything.” They enrolled in what Harding calls “world schooling,” where they travel together and learn through global experiences.
Occupations
Harding founded and ran Impact Junkie, a company that helps people start businesses and “live out their purpose.” The program has over 2 million participants in 30 countries and has been translated into six languages. Harding has traveled the world training and investing in entrepreneurs from small villages to veterans, former convicts, teachers, and single mothers.
He worked in Congress while attending Harvard and spent time as a senior adviser at the Pentagon and the White House.
He also previously worked as an associate pastor in California.
Major policy positions
Harding’s campaign has three core priorities: empowering businesses, strengthening families, and tackling the national debt.
Harding is running for Congress to reduce government regulations, introduce pro‑growth tax and regulatory policy, and expand access to capital and investment for small businesses.
“We will make Virginia’s 7th district the best place in America to start and grow a business,” Harding said to the crowd at his campaign launch event.
The second priority is to defend the family by protecting parental rights, getting schools back to educating, and keeping communities safe.
“If we can address the family, get back to strengthening the families, that’s going to solve most of the downstream issues in our society,” Harding told Washington Examiner.
Harding wants to use his business experience to tackle debt. He plans to cut waste, audit inefficiencies, hold overspenders accountable, and reform spending.
PHILIP HARDING ANNOUNCES RUN AS REPUBLICAN FOR ABIGAIL SPANBERGER’S OLD CONGRESSIONAL SEAT
“We do not have a revenue problem, we have a discipline problem,” Harding said. “If America were a business, we would be restructuring immediately. Trillions of dollars in debt is not compassion, it’s theft from future generations.”
Hobbies
Harding loves extreme sports such as Supercross and X Games. He calls it a “parallel to life,” and loves the feeling of tiptoeing up to the edge and jumping into the unknown.