Former Special Forces soldier and Republican Virginia congressional candidate Derrick Anderson is running to flip Virginia's 7th Congressional District from blue to red. (Derrick Anderson)
Anderson, who launched his campaign in September, saidin a statement that he has a "deep respect" for Scalise’s "incredible perseverance in the face of great adversity."
"His conservative values are clear and his focus on fighting for forgotten Americans is admirable," Anderson said. "I look forward to working with him to address skyrocketing crime, our dangerous open border, and runaway inflation in Congress."
Anderson has also received support from other veterans currently serving in Congress. (Derrick Anderson)
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Anderson, who served in the Army from 2006 to 2016 and deployed on six tours of duty throughout the Middle East as part of the global War on Terror, launched his congressional campaign in September. He first ran for the seat in 2022 but narrowly lost the Republican primary to former congressional candidate Yesli Vega.
Spanberger, a former CIA operative, went on to defeat Vega in the general election by just under 5%, securing her third term. In November, Spanberger announced she would not be seeking re-election to her post and would instead make a run for governor of the state.
Anderson is one of nine candidates vying for the Republican nomination for the district.
Republicans currently hold a slim three-seat majority in the House of Representatives and are hoping to build on that next year, partly by capitalizing on the unpopularity of President Biden. The party gained control of the chamber following the 2022 midterm elections but performed below expectations.
Fox News' Kyle Morris and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
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