More candidates may kick off campaigns for Virginia’s new 7th Congressional District at this week’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting.
A host of aspirants already announced their candidacies at the party’s March and April meetings. But some contenders — including Dorothy McAuliffe and Elizabeth Guzman — have yet to stand in front of the party rank-and-file.
Arlington Democratic Committee chair Paul Ruiz previously said he would limit the number of announcements at any given meeting. This month’s meeting is set for Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. at Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School.
If the redrawn congressional maps survive a court challenge, the northern 60% of Arlington will move from the 8th District to the new 7th District.
The new 7th District was drawn to lean Democratic, though the redrawn 8th District more heavily skews in the party’s favor. Incumbent Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) is seeking re-election in the 8th District, and is facing a number of challengers in the Aug. 4 primary.
According to the tally kept by the Blue Virginia political website, some Beyer challengers have emerged who have not yet formally made remarks to Arlington Democrats.
The party also is awaiting remarks from Julie Farnam, who qualified for the Democratic County Board primary. Farnam is competing against James DeVita and incumbent Matt de Ferranti. That primary also will occur on Aug. 4.
Farnam in 2024 also ran in the Democratic County Board, finishing fifth.
Civic Federation to hold off on congressional debates until fall: The Arlington County Civic Federation has opted against holding candidate forums for the 7th and 8th Congressional District U.S. House of Representatives’ seats in advance of the Aug. 4 Democratic primary.
A combination of the late qualifying date and prospect of more than a dozen candidates “led us to avoid the congressional race,” federation president Nicholas Giacobbe told ARLnow.
Instead, the Democratic nominees in the districts, plus all others making the Nov. 4 ballot, will be invited to participate in the organization’s September candidate forum.
At the Civic Federation’s meeting on Tuesday, May 12, the three Democratic contenders for County Board will square off in a debate.
The forum will be held in the Hazel Auditorium at Virginia Hospital Center, 1701 N. George Mason Drive, beginning at 7 p.m. The community can watch either in person or online.
The Democratic County Board nominee and others making the Nov. 4 ballot will be invited to participate in the federation’s September debate.
Party activist receives top Democratic award: Margo Horner, a veteran Democratic leader and currently chair of the 8th District Democratic Committee, last month received the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s highest honor.
Horner was the recipient of the Mary Marshall Outstanding Democrat of the Year Award, presented at the party’s annual Blue Victory Dinner.
The award is named in honor of a longtime House of Delegates member representing Arlington.
Also at the dinner, Michelle Kilkenny received the Erik Gutshall Community Leader Award, named to honor a County Board member who died in 2020.
Other award recipients were Mohsin Syed (Newcomer of the Year), Tim Huson (Campaigner of the Year), Rachel Dondero (Herselle Milliken Precinct Captain of the Year), Fran Jackson (Jean Marshall Crawford Women’s Leadership Award), Mark Teel (Unsung Hero Award) and Owen Williams (Young Democrat of the Year).
Arlington elections chief to discuss ranked-choice voting in Fairfax: Arlington elections director Gretchen Reinemeyer will be among the presenters as Fairfax County residents next week discuss the potential of ranked-choice voting in their jurisdiction.
Reinemeyer will take part in a forum on the election option, to be held on Monday, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the North County Governmental Center in Reston.
Liz White, executive director of UpVote Virginia, also will serve as a panelist.
Hosted by Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill), the forum is open to the public.
“As more DMV localities adopt ranked-choice voting, it’s time for Fairfax County to take a closer look,” Alcorn said in a social-media posting.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, like other local governing bodies across the commonwealth, has been delegated authority by the General Assembly to switch its election format from the traditional plurality method to ranked choice.
Unlike Arlington, where at least one County Board member is elected each year, all 10 Fairfax supervisors are elected concurrently. The next election will be held on Nov. 2, 2027.
Currently, Democrats hold nine of the 10 seats on the body. Given Fairfax’s Democratic political leanings, a switch to ranked choice might have a greater impact in the party’s nomination contests, as has been the case in Arlington, than in general elections.
Falls Church City Council members also are expected to begin exploring the possibility of a switch to ranked-choice voting in the 2027 election, when three of the seven Council seats are up for grabs.
