Four more contenders in a potentially redrawn 7th Congressional District made their pitches to Arlington Democrats on April 8.
J.P. Cooney, Dave Kennedy, Del. Adele McClure and State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim join a field of Democrats for the 7th District that includes State Sen. Dan Helmer, who spoke to county Democrats in March, and former Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, who has yet to make an appearance. Another contender, Joe Schiarizzi, announced his candidacy today (Thursday).
A public messaging brawl over Virginia’s upcoming redistricting referendum has gotten even messier with new mailers prominently displaying out-of-context quotes from former President Barack Obama.
The front of the mailers, which some Arlington households received last week, urges residents to vote against redistricting and quotes Obama as saying, “Let voters decide, not politicians.” Obama actually supports redistricting, and his quote is taken from a pro-redistricting ad released a few weeks ago.
The Virginia General Assembly passed every bill in Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s “Affordable Virginia Agenda” before adjourning its 2026 session over the weekend — though lawmakers left Richmond without a budget deal.
The 16-bill package, which Spanberger and Democratic legislative leaders announced in December, targets the cost of housing, healthcare and energy. Arlington Dels. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D) and Patrick Hope (D) each carried legislation in the package.
The Arlington County Board has voted to restrict, but not eliminate, the placement of campaign signs and other signage on county medians.
In a 4-1 vote, a majority of Board members said the compromise is a reasonable middle ground that will reduce clutter without severely impacting candidates’ ability to get their messages out.
It’s still far from clear what the district boundaries will be, but two more congressional candidates pitched their case to Arlington Democrats last week.
Del. Dan Helmer (D-10), of Fairfax County, became the first candidate seeking the redrawn 7th Congressional District seat to launch a bid in front of county Democrats.
Arlington’s two main political parties are driving opposing messages as early voting on Virginia’s congressional redistricting referendum began this morning (Friday).
The Arlington County Democratic Committee’s rank and file voted to support the redrawing of the commonwealth’s 11 congressional districts at a Wednesday meeting.
Arlington Democrats have officially endorsed School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton’s bid for a second term.
Zecher Sutton was the lone candidate to seek the party’s endorsement prior to the Feb. 27 filing deadline. As a result, the planned May caucus was canceled, and party members unanimously voted to support her on Wednesday.
Arlington’s never-ending campaign cycle saw both Democrats and Republicans gearing up for battle over the past few weeks.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee is “focused on winning, doing everything we can to ensure Democrats win,” party chair Paul Ruiz said at Democrats’ monthly meeting on Feb. 4.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivered a Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address yesterday (Tuesday), questioning whether the president was improving affordability and keeping Americans safe.
Spanberger took aim at Trump’s policies including tariffs, the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress, federal immigration enforcement tied to the deaths of two Americans, federal workforce reductions through DOGE, withholding of the Epstein files, and the threat of a war with Iran.
School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton launched her reelection bid last week with a pledge to fight for students — and against the Trump administration.
“We’re all feeling the impact of this administration’s attacks on our values. We will not back down,” Zecher Sutton said during Wednesday remarks to about 200 people at the monthly Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting.
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.
Another candidate has entered a challenge against Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in the lawmaker’s first primary election in his 18 years on the Senate.
Mark Moran, a former reality television star and Wall Street investment banker who lives in Falls Church, announced his candidacy today (Wednesday), one year and one day after President Trump was sworn into office.
