Arlington will remain in a single congressional district after the Virginia Supreme Court on May 8 invalidated redistricting approved by Virginia voters just weeks before.
Unless the U.S. Supreme Court decides to intervene or Democrats can conceive another end-around to overturn the decision, district boundaries revert to where they had been. For Arlington voters, this means all of the county remains in the 8th District, where Rep. Don Beyer will attempt to fend off several primary challengers in August.
If Beyer succeeds, he will move on to the Nov. 3 general election.
The existing 8th District that Beyer represents is far more compact than the redrawn incarnation shot down in the 4-3 Supreme Court ruling. It includes just Arlington, the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, and a portion of eastern Fairfax County.
The court’s ruling is likely to mean an end of the road for many of the contenders who were seeking the Democratic nomination in the redrawn 7th District, which would have run from northern Arlington west and southwest into suburban and then rural areas of the commonwealth.
Three of those contenders — Dorothy McAuliffe, Joe Schiarizzi and Del. Elizabeth Guzman — made their case before the Arlington County Democratic Committee just two days before the court ruling was handed down.
Those who previously made kickoff speeches before local Democrats included Del. Dan Helmer, Del. Adele McClure, Sen. Sadam Azlan Salim, J.P. Cooney, David Kennedy and Adam Dunigan.
Those who had not appeared, but are included in the candidate scorecard kept by Blue Virginia, include Olivia Troye, Alex Thymmons and Jon Schmeelk.
Each of those candidates will now have to decide whether to bow out, or to challenge one of Northern Virginia’s four incumbent House Democrats: Beyer, Eugene Vindman in the 7th District, Suhas Subramanyam in the 10th and James Walkinshaw in the 11th. Each is seeking re-election.
The current 8th District leans heavily Democratic. In the 2024 general election, Beyer won 72% of the vote in a four-candidate field.
Beyer was first elected to Congress in 2014, and has not faced serious opposition since. But even before the court ruling, he was facing a number of challengers in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary:
- Jason Knapp announced his candidacy at the Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting on May 6
- Mohamed “Mo” Seifeldein, a former Alexandria City Council member, spoke to Democrats in January but first announced his bid last summer
- A running tally of candidates kept by the Blue Virginia political website also lists Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs as a Democratic candidate, but she has not appeared before the county committee
The filing deadline for congressional candidates seeking to run in party primaries is May 26. Independents have until Aug. 4 to file the necessary paperwork for ballot access for the November general election.
Reaction from state, local leaders
In a statement after the Supreme Court decision was handed down, Beyer called the result “disgraceful.”
“Four unelected justices used semantics to justify a partisan decision that threw out the votes of three million Virginians, something that has never happened in the history of our commonwealth,” he said.
By contrast, Ryan McDougle, the Republican leader in the Virginia Senate, praised the 4-3 Supreme Court majority for its ruling that determined Democratic legislators had violated legal standards in setting up the referendum.
“This ruling is not a partisan one — it is a constitutional one,” McDougle said. “The General Assembly must follow the law.”
McDougle was among those who sued to stop the redistricting process from moving forward. The state Supreme Court allowed the referendum to take place while considering the legal issues involved.
The referendum passed by a narrow statewide majority of 51.7% to 48.3%.
In the wake of the court ruling, Democratic leaders discussed options ranging from appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to somewhat more quirky proposals. But veteran Democratic political activist Lowell Feld, an attorney who runs the Blue Virginia website, saw no route to success.
“There’s no one to appeal this to. The only other option to appeal would be the U.S. Supreme Court, and obviously that’s a non-starter,” he wrote.
Mark Levine, a former state legislator whose district included parts of South Arlington, had much the same take.
Asked online if the ruling could be successfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Levine — also an attorney — had a three-word reply: “No, it can’t.”
A Republican attorney with familiarity of U.S. Supreme Court proceedings told ARLnow much the same thing, noting that supporters of the redistricting amendment had not raised federal constitutional issues as the case moved forward. Now, he said, it is too late to try and come up with them.
Most Democratic candidates running in the new 7th District issued statements denouncing the ruling and urging further legal action. But as of the weekend, few gave definitive responses on their future political plans.
Kennedy, one of the Democratic candidates seeking the 7th District seat, told ARLnow he was considering alternatives. The candidate, who unsuccessfully ran as an independent in the 8th District in 2024, said he didn’t necessarily plan to run in that primary despite living there.
“One option I am considering is to run in a district outside of the 8th,” he said. “In these times where insane money and power — and the “tech bros” — are running our country, We the People need to reclaim our voice. I want to be part of that conversation.”
The U.S. Constitution does not require candidates for the House of Representatives to live within the districts they represent.
Other 7th District contenders, such as Salim, put out more generic statements, voicing anger at the ruling and calls for a response.
“This is a moment for urgency, unity and action,” said Salim, who represents areas of Falls Church and Fairfax County in the Virginia Senate.
“People are fed up, and they have every right to be,” he said.
Dunigan, who initially announced plans to challenge Beyer in the 8th before moving to the 7th, left open the possibility of returning.
“Virginians need to send leaders to Washington that will fight for the people, hold corrupt power accountable, and defend our democracy,” he said in a statement. “That’s been my mission since day one. And it will stay my mission regardless of how lines are drawn on a map.”
Local elections office gears up
Even before the court ruling, the Arlington Electoral Board had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, May 12 to discuss preparations for the Aug. 4 primary.
The court battle has not caused problems at the local level, county elections director Gretchen Reinemeyer told ARLnow.
“Because the election was never certified, no actions had been taken to prepare for the primary,” she said.
Virginia’s local, state and congressional primaries typically are held in June, but were pushed back six weeks as the redistricting battle played out. The delay affects the County Board race, where three Democrats are vying for the party’s nomination.
Early voting is set to begin June 18.
Arlington Democrats are planning a candidate forum for 8th District contenders sometime in June, party chair Paul Ruiz said at the May 6 meeting. The date and location are to be determined, he said.
Local Democrats also are planning a straw poll for the 8th District and County Board races as part of a picnic slated for July 11 at Bon Air Park.
The status of redistricting was still up in the air when county Democrats convened on May 6. At the meeting, Ruiz said the party benefited from having to mobilize in support of the April 21 referendum.
“A lot of this had to come together very quickly,” he said of the effort. “It was a challenge. We’re building muscle strength.”
At a meeting in late April, Arlington County Republican Committee chair Matthew Hurtt had much the same message.
While “yes” took nearly 80% of the vote in the county, Hurtt said the GOP used the referendum to rebuild its precinct operations in the county to press for a “no” vote.
But the court’s decision might motivate county Democrats in similar fashion to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential victory. The party then channeled many voters’ anger over Trump’s win to tighten its grip on local politics even further.
Democratic chair Ruiz said his party would aggressively recruit new volunteers to continue the party’s dominance in Arlington.
“If you tell me you’ve got time, I will find something for you to do,” he said.
