These prosecutors saw how the justice system failed women. Now they’re running for Congress.

Shannon Taylor and Christina Hines, both former prosecutors, are seeking U.S. House seats in Virginia and Michigan by drawing on their experience prosecuting sex crimes, domestic violence and human trafficking, according to reporting by Mel Leonor Barclay of The 19th, republished by Michigan Advance. The candidates say voters are frustrated with corruption and injustice, including the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Taylor, who became the top prosecutor in Henrico County, Virginia, in 2012, said she found a system that was not delivering justice in complex sex trafficking cases, where women were arrested at local motels while the men who exploited them often faced no accountability. She is challenging Republican Rob Wittman, who has served 10 terms and won the 1st District by 13 points in 2024. Taylor's campaign has released two ads this cycle; the second features Cathy Easter, an advocate who credits Taylor with championing Virginia's sex trafficking law. Easter said Taylor reshaped how Henrico County worked with women victims of sex crimes and domestic violence, partnering with nonprofits on legal aid and housing, an approach she said influenced other localities in the state. The Center for Politics at the University of Virginia considers the district a bellwether for party control of the U.S. House.

In Michigan, Hines is running in a Detroit-suburb district that Trump carried by seven points in 2024. She faces Republican Mike Bouchard, who is running on boosting American manufacturing, border security and opposing what he calls "far left policies." Hines became chief of the Special Victims Unit and Appeals in the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office in 2021, where, according to her campaign, she reformed child-victim interviewing practices, expanded a hate crimes program for LGBTQ+ victims and led an initiative prosecuting cold-case sexual assaults. She has also attended events with Epstein survivors touring the country, pledging to fight for them in Congress. She said policy could reduce abuse, citing the lack of affordable childcare and the growing number of sexual abuse cases occurring online.

Both candidates have tied their campaigns to the Epstein case. Taylor criticized former Attorney General Pam Bondi's appearance before the House Judiciary panel on the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files, and said Wittman and the Trump administration have failed to act sooner. Wittman's campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Taylor said voters are worried about the cost of living but are "equally infuriated" by corruption in Washington. The article also notes a separate controversy in which a woman filed a lawsuit alleging a gang rape by members of a Cornell University fraternity, with claims that the university and local law enforcement mishandled the case.