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Rep. Don Beyer and campaign volunteers canvassed Falls Church as the congressman sought voter support for an Aug. 4 Democratic primary that will determine his party’s nominee in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.
Beyer, who is seeking a seventh term in the U.S. House, gathered with volunteers at a supporter’s home on Claremont Drive before they set out to contact local voters.
“This is not complicated. Just remind them about the vote on August 4 and to vote for me!” Beyer told the volunteers.
Fairfax County Supervisor Dalia Palchik introduced Beyer at the gathering and praised his work in office.
“He’s done so much to fight in Congress, for immigration rights, for schools, human services, the things that really matter to people in our community,” Palchik said.
The 8th District includes Falls Church, Alexandria, Arlington County and parts of Fairfax County. Beyer faces four candidates for the Democratic nomination: Lorena Thorne Bruner, Michael Christian Duffin, Adam M. Dunigan and Mo Seifeldein.
The source account identifies Bruner as a community advocate and Duffin as a former U.S. State Department official. It describes Dunigan as a former U.S. Marine and CIA case officer, and Seifeldein as a former Alexandria City Council member and Department of Labor attorney. None of the challengers was quoted in the supplied account of the campaign event.
The August primary comes unusually late in the election calendar. The source account attributes its timing to a change Virginia lawmakers made in February through an appropriations bill that included a redistricting plan. That explanation was not independently corroborated by another supplied source.
Under the reported election schedule, July 24 is the deadline to register for the primary and request an absentee ballot. Early voting is scheduled to continue through Aug. 1, and voters do not need to give a reason for voting early or absentee.
Falls Church residents may cast early ballots at City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Saturday voting is scheduled there from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 25 and Aug. 1. A ballot drop box is also available in the City Hall parking lot, according to the supplied election information.
Beyer first ran for Congress in 2014, when the source account reports that he received 63.1% of the general-election vote. His reported share increased to 68.4% in 2016 and 76.1% in 2018. It lists subsequent results of 75.8% in 2020, 73.5% in 2022 and 71.52% in 2024. No underlying election-results records were included with the supplied material to independently verify those figures.
Supporters at the Falls Church event argued that Beyer’s experience remains valuable. Palchik acknowledged the other candidates while continuing to make the case for the incumbent.
“I’m glad others are stepping up, getting involved, building name recognition, but Don has done so well,” she said.
The winner of the Democratic primary is scheduled to face Tony Sabio in the Nov. 3 general election. The source account identifies Sabio as the sole Republican nominee.