One local state lawmaker announced plans today (Monday) to seek a newly-drawn Congressional seat if Virginia’s redistricting amendment is approved by voters later this month.
Saddam Azlan Salim, a Democrat who has served in the state Senate since 2023, joins a crowded primary field for the proposed 7th Congressional District that includes two other state lawmakers and a former Virginia first lady.
“With the challenges families face, rising costs, climate change, income inequality and a broken justice system, we need leaders in Washington ready to take them head-on,” Salim said in a statement.
We were homeless and you opened your doors. Your empathy gave my family the chance to keep going.
Now, I am running for Congress to pay it forward and fight for your family the way you fought for mine.
We will stand up to billionaires, corporate PACs, AIPAC, and ICE.
Join us. pic.twitter.com/wNygVsR5QF
— Senator Saddam Azlan Salim (@salimforva) April 6, 2026
Salim’s announcement comes mere weeks after the end of the state’s legislative session, where the third-year senator introduced 15 bills that made their way to the governor’s desk.
That slate includes S.B. 749, which would make it a misdemeanor to sell or transfer an “assault firearm,” as well as three bills that would “end ICE abuses” by placing state-level restrictions on federal immigration enforcement activities.
“[T]hey are the right policies for Virginia, and that they will be upheld by our courts,” Salim told FFXnow last month.
In his campaign announcement, Salim said he “was ready to take that same fight” to Congress.
“If you believe everyone deserves a safe home, a good job, clean air and water and a justice system that respects our rights, then I’m asking you to stand with me,” Salim said. “Together, we’ll build a future where every family doesn’t just get by but experiences progress.”
Salim, 36, first won election to the 37th Senate District in 2023 after defeating Chap Petersen — a 16-year incumbent — in a Democratic primary.
Only part of Salim’s current district — which includes Fairfax City, Falls Church, Oakton, Vienna and Tysons — would fall within the boundaries of the proposed 7th Congressional District, which would spread east to the Potomac River, south to Powhatan County and east to Augusta County.
The sprawling, “lobster-shaped” district will only take effect if voters approve a Constitutional amendment on April 21 to allow a one-time, mid-decade redistricting process.
A simple majority is required to let the General Assembly install the proposed maps, which are expected to give Democrats an advantage in all but one of the state’s Congressional districts. The party currently represents five of the state’s 11 districts.
