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House committee to compel testimony from Arlington’s top prosecutor in ongoing dispute

Published July 6, 2026 at 3:45PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti speaks (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

House Republicans are compelling Arlington’s top prosecutor to testify next week in a pair of ongoing disputes over politically charged topics.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is requiring Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti to appear for a deposition on Thursday, July 16. This caps months of written clashes between the two officials — first over Dehghani-Tafti’s handling of a criminal case involving a political activist, and later over her policies restricting contact with immigration enforcement.

News

Fiery 8th District primary forum sparks candidate boycott over heckling

By Scott McCaffrey

Published July 2, 2026 at 3:45PM

8th District candidate forum (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) took fire from his own party’s challengers at a candidate forum this week — an event combustible enough that one rival is now boycotting the next Arlington Democratic gathering over heckling.

“He hasn’t pushed back,” said Mo Seifeldein, a former Alexandria City Council member and one of four seeking to unseat Beyer in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary.

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De Ferranti’s challengers rip tax levels, allege excessive spending by County Board

By Scott McCaffrey

Published June 8, 2026 at 10:45AM

County Board challengers James DeVita and Julie Farnam (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Democrats challenging incumbent Matt de Ferranti are criticizing the County Board for what they see as putting government spending ahead of tax relief.

Echoing a theme long trumpeted by Republican and independent political challengers to the county’s all-Democratic Board, candidates James DeVita and Julie Farnam each used the June 3 Arlington County Democratic Committee candidate forum to accuse the Board of excessive spending.

News

Arlington GOP backs challenger to Rep. Beyer’s congressional seat

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 29, 2026 at 3:15PM

8th District Republican congressional candidate Tony Sabio (via campaign website)

Republicans have their candidate in place for the 8th District U.S. House of Representatives race.

Tony Sabio, a national-security professional and self-described Reagan conservative, was the lone Republican to file for the party’s nomination by the May 26 at 5 p.m. deadline.

News

Rep. Beyer touts package of endorsements from Arlington officials in re-election bid

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 27, 2026 at 2:45PM

Rep. Don Beyer (left), Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti, then-School Board candidate Bethany Zecher Sutton and Sen. Tim Kaine gather at a rally in Arlington in 2022 (staff photo)

Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) has come close to achieving a clean sweep of re-election endorsements from Arlington’s local elected officials.

Among those formally supporting his bid for a seventh two-year term, according to a release from the Beyer campaign:

News

Sen. Favola turns focus to flipping seats in Virginia primary, considers reelection bid

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 22, 2026 at 2:45PM

State Sen. Barbara Favola (file photo)

As she mulls over her own political future, Arlington’s senior state senator is seeking to help Democrats pick up seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Despite the Democratic redistricting map being overturned by the Virginia Supreme Court, Sen. Barbara Favola (D-40) believes her party has a chance in November to flip several of the five Virginia congressional seats currently held by Republicans.

News

Ranked-choice ballot options for County Board will expand from 3 to 10 in 2027

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 14, 2026 at 10:00AM

An ‘I voted in Arlington’ sticker (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Arlington voters next year will be able to select up to 10 candidates in ranked-choice elections, more than triple the number currently available.

New ballot scanners set to arrive in Arlington before this year’s Aug. 4 state primary allow for ranking up to 10 contenders. But existing ballot markers, used to assist voters with disabilities, will not be replaced until next year.

News

Falls Church congressional candidate will exit race if redrawn district is gone for good

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 13, 2026 at 2:45PM

7th Congressional District candidate Joe Schiarizzi (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A congressional candidate from Falls Church says he will leave the race if the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision on redistricting stands.

“If there is no new 7th District, then I will not be running for anything this year,” Joe Schiarizzi told ARLnow. “I will not run in the 8th or anywhere else.”

News

Democrats ask the Supreme Court to halt a Virginia ruling blocking new congressional districts

By The Associated Press

Published May 11, 2026 at 4:55PM

A poster on the Virginia redistricting referendum is seen during voting at Mason Square, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats.

The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in the Virginia’s general election last fall.

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All of Arlington stays in same congressional district after court strikes down redistricting

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 11, 2026 at 2:45PM

Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

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.

News

Latest Democratic challenger says Rep. Beyer has stayed too long in elected office

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 8, 2026 at 9:15AM

8th District congressional candidate Jason Knapp (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The latest Democratic challenger to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) says the incumbent deserves credit for a storied political career, but should now exit the political stage to let others step up.

Jason Knapp is one of several challengers taking on the six-term incumbent in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary. A retired U.S. Navy pilot, Knapp kicked off his campaign at Wednesday’s Arlington Democratic Committee meeting, where he said it’s time for Beyer’s long-held congressional seat to change hands.

News

‘Make DC Square Again’ follows several doomed attempts to reunite Arlington and D.C.

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 6, 2026 at 3:45PM

Map showing areas of D.C. and Virginia after retrocession vote of 1846 (via Library of Congress)

This reporting was supported by the ARLnow Press Club. Join to support in-depth local journalism — and get an exclusive early morning email with a preview of that day’s planned news coverage.

Arlington is set to reach a historic milestone in September — the 180th anniversary of its return from the District of Columbia to Virginia sovereignty.