Bob was born and raised in Chicago in a family with eight kids. In 1966, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Army as a transportation movements specialist and served 19 months in South Vietnam coordinating truck convoys that resupplied troops in the field. Bob worked at USA Today at night and taught school during the day to care for his large family. Bob continues to serve his community as a member of the Edinburg VFW Post 2447 and the Woodstock American Legion Post 199. He is a member of the Edinburg Lions and is the elected Secretary of the Shenandoah Valley Democratic Committee.

Smith supports abortion access, and he would vote against attempts to ban abortion. Smith would also vote to raise the minimum wage. He supports raising teacher pay and funding school support positions like counselors and nurses. Smith believes that everyone should have access to healthcare, and that Medicaid should be expanded to ensure that the community has that access.

Speaker Todd Gilbert has served as the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2022, and he currently represents the 15th district. Because of redistricting, he is running as a Republican to represent the 33rd district. Speaker Gilbert is a former prosecutor, and he was a member of the Violent Crime Prosecution Team. Speaker Gilbert supports defunding public schools in favor of private, unregulated schools. He is also against common sense gun violence prevention measures and would vote for a ban on abortion access.

While Robert Smith has some clear progressive values, we could not find enough information to make a strong recommendation.

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