U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is taking on challenges about his age and the possibility of a dramatically different constituency as he seeks reelection.
Beyer, who turns 76 in June, addressed the age issue at last week’s meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee. He also discussed potential congressional redistricting in a press release on Friday.
Both of Beyer’s Democratic challengers — Daniel Gray and Adam Dunigan — brought up the age issue in their own campaign announcements. Meanwhile, Virginia’s new proposed congressional map — which is designed to advantage Democrats in response to mid-decade redistricting in other states that favors Republicans — would split Arlington’s representation in half and send the 8th Congressional District as far south as York County in the Tidewater region.
“Last year I announced that I would seek reelection to Congress to protect our community against attacks from the corrupt Trump Administration and fight for fairness, justice, and affordability across the Commonwealth and the country,” Beyer said. “I remain unwavering in that fight, and will seek reelection in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.”
The congressman said he’s prepared to demonstrate his abilities while potentially winning favor in a whole new part of the commonwealth, if redistricting withstands a court challenge and is approved in a voter referendum.
“The 8th District in the proposed redistricting map, if adopted, would make significant changes to this district and to my constituency,” he said. “Many of its voters will be people I know well and have long represented, while others live in communities I served as Lieutenant Governor. I will work hard to earn the trust of Virginians from Arlington to Yorktown, to be an effective advocate for their interests, to defend the vulnerable, show up, listen, and offer top notch constituent services to everyone I represent.”
In remarks to about 200 Democrats on Feb. 4, Beyer also encouraged those with questions about his acuity to “challenge me” on the topic.
“I wouldn’t stand here if I didn’t think I had lots and lots to give” to the community, he said — adding that he believes questions about age are worth asking, “after what happened in the last presidential election.”
At their kickoffs, Gray and Dunigan each said he respected Beyer, but both said it was the right moment for him to pass the torch.
“It is time for new voices,” Gray said. “The future of our party needs to be different.”
Saying he wasn’t targeting Beyer specifically, Gray said having geriatric leadership in Congress is dangerous for the party.
“The stakes are too high and the margins are too close to keep taking these chances,” he said, pointing to a number of deaths among members of Congress during the current session.
Among them was Rep. Gerry Connolly, a longtime fixture in Northern Virginia politics. He died of esophageal cancer last May at age 75.
Connolly was one of four House members — three Democrats and a Republican — to have died during the legislative session that began in January 2025. Their ages ranged from 65 to 77.
Despite the focus on aging members of Congress, the median age of House members this session declined slightly to 57.5 years, according to the Pew Research Center.
The median age on the Senate side is 65.7 years, also down slightly from the previous congressional session. Virginia’s senators are 71 (Mark Warner) and 67 (Tim Kaine) years old.
Like Gray, Dunigan said Beyer was due respect for his political leadership, and acknowledged that many 8th District voters are not interested in unseating him.
But, he added, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe we need new leadership.”
“Politics is no longer a gentleman’s game,” Dunigan said. “It’s a street fight. The Democratic establishment as it stands now isn’t going to save us.”
Beyer, Dunigan and Gray are part of a field of Democratic candidates currently standing at five or possibly six.
Mo Seifeldein, a former Alexandria City Council member, offered remarks to Arlington Democrats in early January. Michael Duffin is also in the race; Frank Ferreira launched a bid last year but does not appear to be actively campaigning.
The large field plays to Beyer’s advantage, as Congressional primaries are won by the candidate with a plurality of votes.
“You’re my people. I’m your congressman,” Beyer said to the crowd at Lubber Run Community Center. “We need leaders who see the role as serving people, not the other way around.”
Both the timing of the primary and the boundaries of the district are in flux, awaiting both General Assembly and court action over Democratic plans to redistrict all 11 congressional seats in time for the Nov. 3 election.
As currently configured, the compact 8th District includes all of Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church, plus about one-third of Fairfax County. The proposed new 8th District would start in Arlington and meander south and east, while the proposed 7th District would stretch all the way to the West Virginia border.
Beyer’s home in Alexandria would be part of the new 8th District. On Feb. 6, he formally announced plans to seek that seat, if the new map is approved by the courts and voters.
“I will work hard to earn the trust of Virginians from Arlington to Yorktown, to be an effective advocate for their interests, to defend the vulnerable, show up, listen, and offer top-notch constituent services to everyone I represent,” he said in a statement.
Beyer, who was elected to Congress in 2014, succeeding Rep. Jim Moran after winning a crowded primary, said he has built rapport both with his colleagues and his constituents during his time in office.
“You can’t get anything done in politics without relationships,” he said.
The incumbent, who served for eight years as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, said he will be the right person to push back on the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
“Every day, I raise the alarm on the damage Trump is doing,” Beyer said. “I’ve tried to be at the heart, the center, to push back against everything he’s done.”
His challengers, however, said a new era of leadership was necessary.
“The Democratic establishment as it stands now isn’t going to save us,” said Dunigan. The party needs “new leaders of action and energy,” he said.
Democrats are at risk of losing portions of their coalition, including young men and the working class, Gray said.
“We as the Democratic Party must be able to deliver timely results,” he said.
Filing for the Democratic primary begins March 16. Since early January, candidates have been circulating petitions to obtain the 1,000 signatures required for ballot access. The filing fee for Democratic candidates is $3,480.
The primary is likely to determine the eventual general-election winner, as the 8th District is one of Virginia’s, and the nation’s, most reliably Democratic.
Despite the long odds, several Republicans are vying to be their party’s nominee in the general election. Independents have until mid-June to file paperwork to enter the race.
