County Democrats are aiming to use their 2026 success as a springboard to 2027 and the all-important 2028 presidential election.
“The work we did is still incomplete,” newly re-elected County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said at the Nov. 4 monthly meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.
A wave of Democratic victories in Congress is raising hopes for local leaders hungry for checks on the Trump administration and its impacts on Northern Virginia.
Democrats representing Arlington celebrated their party retaking the House and Senate at crowded watch parties last night and in statements today (Wednesday).
Falls Church voters reaffirmed their political allegiance to Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Don Beyer, helping the two secure easy victories last night (Tuesday).
Warner (D-Va.) garnered 6,828 votes, or 84.8%, in the city, based on unofficial Virginia Department of Elections results. He far outpaced Republican Bert Mizusawa, who received 1,199 votes or just under 15%.
With their own candidates far ahead in early returns, Arlington Democrats spent the first hours of election night in Shirlington watching the rest of the country.
The Associated Press projected Sen. Mark Warner (D) the winner minutes after Virginia polls closed at 7 p.m. It called Rep. Don Beyer’s (D) race shortly after 8 p.m., and the party’s local slate held wide leads.
Several Democratic elected officials in Arlington plan to visit all 54 of the county’s voting precincts on Election Day to thank volunteers and election workers.
The barnstorming initiative will build on last year’s informal effort by School Board candidate, now member, Monique “Moe” Bryant. She is expected to be joined on the Nov. 3 road trip by Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler, Treasurer Kim Rucker and others.
Arlington Republicans held their final meeting before Election Day without appearances by, or significant mentions of, the two candidates they have endorsed for local office.
Neither County Board candidate Audrey Clement nor School Board contender James “Vell” Rives IV participated in the Oct. 26 online membership meeting. However, 8th District congressional nominee Tony Sabio attended and spoke at the meeting.
Three constitutional amendments on the Nov. 3 ballot have prompted public messages from local Democrats and Republicans, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and a variety of advocacy groups.
Arlington Democrats are supporting all three, which focus on reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and restoration of voting rights for convicted felons who have been released from incarceration. Party members “voted overwhelmingly” earlier this year to support the trio, party officials said.
Arlington Democrats are now targeting a third state in their “Beyond Arlington” get-out-the-vote effort.
Local Democrats yesterday (Sunday) spent three hours writing postcards to Iowa voters, encouraging them to vote for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek over Republican Ashley Hinson.
Arlington Democrats are honoring the legacy of former Virginia Sen. Janet Howell, who died Aug. 2 at age 82.
Howell represented the 32nd District for 32 years before retiring after the 2023 election. For much of that time, the district included portions of northern and western Arlington.
Supporters of an amendment to enshrine abortion and contraception rights in the Virginia constitution fanned out across Arlington last weekend.
Canvassing efforts on Saturday concerned the first of three state constitutional amendments that voters will consider on Nov. 3.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee handed its 2026 Distinguished Democrat awards to two organizers who spent years in the trenches of local politics.
Mary Detweiler and Jack Kinkaid both have fulfilled largely behind-the-scenes duties, mobilizing local efforts and coordinating campaign activities such as distributing median signs and overseeing precinct operations.
The county’s Democratic leadership is advising local voters to take no chances as the Nov. 3 general election draws closer.
“I am concerned about threats to voting,” Arlington County Democratic Committee chair Paul Ruiz said at the party’s monthly meeting on Sept. 2.
