Republican Doug Ollivant, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and combat veteran, is taking on incumbent Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. Ollivant, who is running for elected office for the first time, won the GOP primary on Aug. 4 with 56.6% of the vote.
Republicans believe the 7th district is their best chance to flip a seat in Virginia, as Vindman only narrowly won his first election to the seat in 2024 with 51% of the vote. The district was previously represented by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), before she left Congress to run for governor in 2025.
The general election is Nov. 3.
Here’s what you need to know about the Republican hopeful:
Age
Doug Ollivant, 58, was born on August 29, 1967.
Hometown
Born in Hillsboro, Oregon, Ollivant grew up in Oregon and has lived in Virginia for 10 years, residing in Culpeper County since 2020.
Education
Ollivant attended Indiana University, James Madison University, and Wheaton College. His campaign biography lists advanced degrees from all three institutions.
Family and religion
Ollivant and his wife, Sabrina, have seven children and two grandchildren. Ollivant has been divorced once, and Sabrina is his second wife. The couple happily lives along the Rappahannock River with their chickens and rescue dog. He says his Catholic faith has guided his political values as a first-time candidate.
“I’m a practicing Catholic,” Ollivant told the Washington Examiner. “That’s very important to me, have been a Christian all my life.”
Occupations
Ollivant’s campaign website highlights his military career, including two combat tours in Iraq, advising coalition forces in Afghanistan, teaching at West Point, and serving as director for Iraq at the National Security Council. He later became a senior fellow at New America and the Foreign Policy Research Institute, where his work focused heavily on national security and the changing nature of warfare.
Today, Ollivant leads a global consulting firm that works to combat corruption and promote accountability in some of the world’s toughest regions.
“We help U.S. firms operate in some regions of the world that are rife with corruption,” Ollivant said. “We help guide them through in a way where they can operate legally under U.S. law and local law, specifically Iraq and some Asian countries.”
Major policy positions
Ollivant’s campaign focuses on affordability, fiscal responsibility, food security, and energy abundance.
He sees manufacturing as a key part of his economic agenda.
“I’m talking about a manufacturing renaissance for Virginia,” Ollivant said. “So that we have good jobs for Virginians, and our kids and grandkids can stay here, buy houses, raise families, and don’t have to move to another state where the cost of living dynamic is more favorable.”
He also views the nation’s health and fiscal challenges as closely connected.
“I strongly believe that there are real problems with our food supply and that we’re broke because we’re sick,” Ollivant said. “One way to dip into our federal deficit is to make people healthier through better foods. That way we’re not spending as much on our healthcare.”
Energy is another major focus of his campaign, particularly as Virginia’s electricity demand grows.
“We need to be generating more power, and we need to be generating that power very near where the demand is, so that we’re not running power lines helter skelter across our farms, battlefields, and in some cases, backyards.”
On social issues, Ollivant believes protecting women’s sports is something Republicans need to focus on.
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“Let’s be honest, conservatives were a little late to the party of the importance of sports for girls and women,” Ollivant said. “Now, is this a huge issue along the lines of energy? Well, no. But for the girls impacted, it’s their life, it is huge. So I think this is a very important issue.”
“To me, this is low-hanging fruit,” he added. “This is something that, this is an 80-20 issue that lots of people of goodwill agree on, and something we should be able to do in very short order.”
Hobbies
Ollivant spends much of his free time reading from his extensive personal library. He also tries to take his rescue dog for a walk every day, and the two enjoy visiting dog-friendly breweries around Virginia’s 7th District.