The Campaign for the Democratic Nomination in Virginia's 8th Congressional District

(EMA - text revised June 4, 2014; results appended at bottom of page)
A large1 field of Democratic candidates is vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, who announced on Jan. 15, 2014 that he is retiring after representing Virginia's 8th CD for 12 terms.  The district, which sits across the Potomac River from Washington, DC and includes Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church and McLean, is home to many federal government employees, as well as defense contractors and is one of the more affluent districts in the country. 

This is a district where candidates proudly wear the progressive label, and the winner of the June 10 primary is heavily favored to win in November.  Don Beyer is seen as the frontrunner by virtue of his experience as lieutenant governor, ambassador and businessman, and he has raised the most money and touted an impressive array of endorsements.  However the diverse field also includes some up-and-coming younger candidates, one woman and several elected officials.  The winner will face Republican Micah Edmond, a Marine Corps veteran and former congressional staffer, as well as third party and independent candidates who have a June 10 deadline for achieving ballot access. 

The 8th CD is not the only open Northern Virginia seat.  In the 10th CD, which also includes parts of Fairfax County and extends west to Loudon, Clarke and Frederick Counties, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R) is not seeking re-election after serving in Congress since Jan. 1981.
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Dynamics of the Race
Don Beyer has a solid record as a public servant and businessman, but as the frontrunner he has endured attacks on policy and other fronts.  The sharpest policy criticisms have come from Del. Patrick Hope, who has directly challenged Beyer on welfare reform in several of the later candidate forums.  Additionally, in the May 30 forum Mark Levine charged Beyer had supported Tom DeLay's national sales tax, which Beyer denied, and he said that Beyer had supported cuts to the estate tax.  One of Beyer's daughters, who attended the forum, said she almost cried four times. 

Another undercurrent in the race is Beyer's age; he is almost 64.  (Moran, the incumbent, turned 69 in May).  Quite a few residents want a nominee who can serve for many years as Congressman Moran has, accrue seniority and build up a record as a progressive stalwart.  One story has it that the Morans want Beyer to win so that after six or eight years the congressman's younger brother Brian Moran can vie for the seat; a variation of this story is that a number of state legislators hope Beyer wins so they can run in eight or ten years.  One outspoken critic of Beyer, Mark Riley, an Alexandria resident, even printed up some flyers "Beyer Beware: Vote HOPE for Congress!" which he distributed at the May 30 forum.  While acknowledging Beyer as "venerable," he questioned whether Beyer is the best choice for the congressional seat, arguing that it would merely be the next feather in the cap for Beyer and his "ambitious spouse."

Calls, Mailings, Emails and Ads
Three of the campaigns appear to be doing TV advertising.  The Beyer campaign has three ads thus far.  In "Trust," targeted to women voters, Beyer expresses support for the right to choose, equal pay and and paid medical leave.  In "Won't Give Up" Beyer and his wife Megan focus on his support for commonsense gun laws.  In "For Them," featuring cute kids, Beyer addresses the climate change crisis and calls for a carbon tax.   Mark Levine has two ads featuring the candidate talking to the camera.  In "Sea of Politicians," Levine highlights Elizabeth Warren his role model and Barney Frank his old boss and states that, "Democrats need a strong voice that stands out from the crowd."  "Constitution" features Levine pulling out his handy pocket copy of the Constitution.  The Euille campaign has a visually interesting ad, "Odds," which highlights how Euille beat the odds; he concludes saying he "can do more in Congress to make the odds of success a little better for everyone."  Residents of the 8th District have also been receiving a lot of direct mail.  As an example, one household in Falls Church has received 28 pieces of mail from six campaigns (13 pieces from the Beyer campaign, three from the Chatman campaign, three from the Ebbin campaign, four from the Euille campaign, four from the Hope campaign, and one from the Levine campaign).

Forums, forums, forums! [click for coverage]

April 12 - Mt. Vernon High School. May 5 - George Mason University.


May 15 - Alden Theater and McLean Community Center. May 30 - NRECA auditorium.

April 12 - Mount Vernon District Democratic Committee at Mt. Vernon High School in Alexandria.  video by Inside Scoop

April 24 - Alexandria NAACP and Citizens of Northern Virginia at Antioch Church of Christ in Alexandria.  video by Blue Virginia

May 5 - George Mason School of Public Policy and George Mason Center for State and Local Government in Founders Hall auditorium at George Mason University's Arlington campus.  video by Arlington Indep. Media

May 15 - Dranesville District Democratic Committee, Providence District Democratic Committee and Fairfax County Young Democrats at Alden Theatre, McLean Community Center in McLean.  video by Inside Scoop

May 16 - African American Leadership Council of Arlington at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Arlington.

May 18 - Beth El Brotherhood & Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia in Alexandria.

May 30 - Arlington County Democratic Committee at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) auditorium in Arlington.


levineforcongress.com  |  facebook  |  twitter hyra2014.com  |  facebook  | 
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www.hopeforcongress.comfacebook  |  twitter euilleforcongress.com  |  facebook  |  twitter







#VA08
www.adamebbin.com  |  facebook  |  twitter www.lavernchatman.org  |  facebook  |  twitter friendsofdonbeyer.com  |
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More Useful Links
Fairfax County Democratic Committee  [calendar]
Arlington County Democratic Committee  [calendar]
Alexandria Democratic Committee  [calendar]
Virginia 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee

Fairfax County Republican Committee  [calendar]
Arlington County Republican Committee
Alexandria Republican City Committee  [calendar]
Virginia 8th District Republican Committee

R-Micah Edmond for Congress  |  micah4congress  |  @micah4congress

L-Jeffrey Carson for Congress 2014  |  JeffreyCarsonForCongress  |  @JCarsonVA8

I-Beck for Congress  |  @beck4congress

IG-Gerard Blais

Washington Post - Virginia Politics
INSIDENOVA - Politics
BlueVirginia.us [covers VA politics from a progressive and Democratic perspective]

Pre-primary reports from the FEC
through May 21, 2014:
Candidate
Receipts
Disbursements
COH
D.Beyer
$1,319,373
$968,002
$351,371
L.Chatman
$406,142
$337,084
$69,057
A.Ebbin
$291,315
$203,193
$88,122
B.Euille
$314,319
$295,905
$18,404
C.Herring
$138,326
$129,140
$9,186
P.Hope
$268,920
$196,747
$72,173
D.Hyra
$35,128
$23,658
$11,470
S.Korpe
 $14,055
$7,141
$6,913
M.Levine
$488,490*
$195,737
$292,753
A.Lopez
$113,523
$52,503
$61,019
N.Najarian
$301,996*
$22,977
$279,019
B.Shuttleworth
n/a


M.Sickles
$63,687
$48,327
$15,360
*Levine includes $400,000 candidate loans, Beyer includes $200,000
candidate loans; Korpe include $5,354 candidate loans
.
First Quarter finance reports from the FEC
through March 31, 2014:
Candidate
Receipts
Disbursements
COH
D.Beyer
$672,104
$222,468
$449,637
L.Chatman
$268,697
$85,230
$213,468
A.Ebbin
$178,800
$63,922
$114,879
B.Euille
$214,572
$41,063
$173,509
C.Herring
$121,315
$31,640
$89,675
P.Hope
$186,534
$47,801
$138,733
D.Hyra
$26,049
$11,579
$14,470
S.Korpe
 -


M.Levine
$322,808*
$23,530
$299,278
A.Lopez
$79,904
$16,274
$63,630
N.Najarian
$301,996*
$22,977
$279,019
B.Shuttleworth
$332,188*
$80,747
$252,276
M.Sickles
$63,687
$48,327
$15,360
*Three of the candidates/former candidates have made major
contributions to their campaigns: Levine ($250,000), Shuttleworth
($275,000) and Najarian ($202,000).

Endorsements

Don Beyer
Senator Toddy Puller (D-Mount Vernon)
Delegate Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria)
Satish Korpe
, former 2014 candidate for Congress in VA-08

Presidential Advisor David Axelrod
Pete Rouse, former Obama Chief of Staff
Melody Barnes, former Obama domestic policy adviser
Jim Messina, Obama 2012 campaign manager
Julianna Smoot, former White House Social Secretary and 2012 deputy campaign manager

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean
Former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin
Bill Richardson
, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former U.S. Secretary of Energy

NARAL President Emeritus Kate Michelman

Humane Society Legislative Fund
Coalition for a Livable World/PeacePAC
National Association of Postal Supervisors
Professional Aviation Safety Specialists


The Washington Post

Falls Church News-Press





Mark Levine
U.S. Senator Chris Coons (DE)
Climate scientist Michael Mann
Lavern Chatman
Oprah Winfrey
AFGE Local 476




Bill Euille
Councilwoman Redella S. “Del” Pepper, Alexandria, VA
Sheriff Dana Lawhorne, Alexandria, VA
Ferdinand Day, Former School Board Member, Alexandria, VA
Charles Wilson, Former School Board Member, Alexandria, VA
Owen Shortt, Past President of the Fairfax County NAACP
Talmadge Williams, Past President of the Arlington NAACP and President of the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington
Herb Smith, Former Vice Chair of Outreach Fairfax County Democratic Committee
Shelia Coats, Dranesville Democratic District Committee and Fairfax County Democratic Committee
Mayor Harry J. Parrish II, Manassas, VA
Mayor Ron Rordam, Blacksburg, VA
Mayor Kenneth I Wright, Portsmouth, VA
Mayor David A. Bowers, Roanoke, VA
Antonio Villraigosa, Former Mayor of Los Angeles

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Charleston, SC




Patrick Hope

Delegate Scott Surovell (D-Mt Vernon)
Delegate Kaye Kory (D-Falls Church)
Theo Stamos, Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlington and the City of Falls Church
Ingrid Morroy, Arlington Commissioner of Revenue
Frank O'Leary, Arlington Treasurer
Ryan McElveen, At-Large member of Fairfax County School Board
Emilie Miller, former Senator from Fairfax County
Janet Oleszek, former At-Large member of Fairfax County School Board
and...
Blue America
Progressive Democrats of America
Arab American Democrats of Virginia

Adam Ebbin
Delegate Mark Sickles (D-Franconia)
Senator Chap Peterson (D-Fairfax)
Senator Dave Marsden (D-Burke)
former State Sen. and Alexandria Mayor Patsy Ticer

Arlington...
Jay Fisette – County Board Chairman
Sally Baird – School Board Member
Ed Fendley – Former School Board Member
Mike Lieberman – Former Democratic Committee Chairman
Leni Gonzalez – Latino Community Leader
Dr. Alfred Taylor – Former Nauck Civic Association President
Andres Tobar – Former Chair of Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, Arlington Community Activist

Alexandria...
Paul Smedberg – City Councilman
Joyce Woodson – Former City Councilwoman
Eileen Cassidy-Rivera – Former School Board Member
Art Schmalz – Former School Board Member
Elmer Arias – Former El Salvadorian Chamber of Commerce President
Howard Woodson – Former NAACP President
Nelson Zavaleta – Arlandria Civic Association President

Fairfax
...
Sandy Evans – School Board Member, Mason District
Tammy Kaufax – School Board Vice Chair, Lee District
Ted Velkoff – School Board Member At Large
Brad Center – Former School Board Member, Lee District

and
...
Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus
LIUNA Local 11
IBEW Local 26
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
NORML and Virginia NORML



 Former Candidates
A total of twelve candidates were in the race for the Democratic nomination at one point or another.  Five candidates have withdrawn; two (Herring and Korpe) after the ballot was set.  Ten candidates will appear on the ballot.
Former Candidates






Bruce Shuttleworth ended his campaign on May 14.  (He did not endorse).








www.progressivewarrior.com  |  facebook  |  twitter





Del. Charniele Herring ended her campaign on May 12 and endorsed Don Beyer.
Engineer Satish Korpe ended his
campaign on May 9.  (He endorsed Beyer on May 19).
Del. Alfonso Lopez ended his
campaign on April 4.
Del. Mark Sickles ended his
campaign on March 12.  (He endorsed Ebbin on March 25).


www.herringforcongress.comfacebook  |  twitter
Herring, who represents the 46th House District, formally announced Jan. 23.  She was endorsed by the PACs of the National Organization for Women, Feminist Majority, and the Women’s Campaign Fund.
korpeforcongress.com  |  facebook  |  twitter
Korpe announced in mid-March.
twitter
Lopez, who represents the 49th House District, announced on Feb. 5.
twitter
Sickles, who represents the 43rd House District, announced on Jan. 27.




Also note: Nancy Najarian failed to qualify for the ballot:
www.najarianforcongress.com  |  facebook  |  twitter

Results
Turnout was very low.  According to the State Board of Elections as of May 1, 2014
there were a total of 439,992 active registered voters in the 8th CD (Virginia doesn't
provide registration figures by party, but this is a Democratic district). 
In the end it wasn't close...

Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
17,783
45.75%
$54.4
Patrick A. Hope
7,095
18.26%
$27.7
Adam P. Ebbin
5,262
13.54%
$38.6
William D. "Bill" Euille
3,264
8.40%
$90.7
Mark H. Levine
2,613
6.72%
$74.9
Lavern J. Chatman
2,117
5.45%
$159.2
Derek S. Hyra
479
1.23%
$49.4
Charniele L. Herring
126
0.32%

Bruce B. Shuttleworth
85
0.22%

Satish W. Korpe
42
0.11%

Total
38,866


Dollar figures are spending per vote based on pre-primary filings; actual spending per vote was higher.

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