Facing an uphill battle to unseat Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary, four challengers used a recent campaign event to carve out their own political lanes:
- Mo Seifeldein tacked the furthest left on some issues and was the most vocal critic of the 12-year incumbent
- Adam Dunigan criticized Beyer and other Democrats for clinging to power rather than giving way to a new generation
- Michael Duffin suggested Beyer hadn’t done enough to help support current and former federal employees like himself
- Lorena Bruner said Democrats need to focus first on removing Donald Trump from office
Their distinctions provided some fireworks at the July 1 debate, hosted by the Arlington County Democratic Committee. But as even one candidate publicly acknowledged, voters in the 8th District are likely to stick with Beyer this election season.
It is “99% likely he’s going to win,” Duffin said of Beyer’s chances, while making the case that more voices should be heard in politics.
“We need to have an open, fair playing field,” said Duffin, whose job in the U.S. Department of State was eliminated last year by the Trump administration. He urged Democratic leaders to “stop putting your fingers on the scales” to benefit establishment candidates.
“Democratic Party machine politics has turned off a lot of people,” Duffin said.
Seifeldein used the forum to go after Beyer on campaign finances, banking reform and what he characterized as the incumbent’s unwillingness to stand up to Republicans.
“He hasn’t pushed back,” Seifeldein said during the 75-minute forum.
Seifeldein served one term on the Alexandria City Council and briefly considered a run for mayor in 2021. He is the only one of the four challengers to have served in elected office, although Bruner campaigned twice to become Stafford County’s revenue commissioner.
Seifeldein tangled several times with Beyer at the forum, criticizing the incumbent for taking money from political action committees. Beyer countered that the funding is a necessary evil in modern-day politics.
“We’ve got to fight fire with fire. If we don’t take the PAC money, [Republicans] win a lot more races,” Beyer said.
Beyer noted that his campaign donates contributions from political committees to candidates in more competitive races.
Seifeldein also criticized Beyer for not cosponsoring one of two articles of impeachment against Trump currently pending in the House of Representatives.
When Beyer responded that the measures were “poorly written” and “not thought through,” Seifeldein shot back.
“If they were poorly written, who didn’t you write one?” he said, accusing Beyer of “not doing what the people are asking you for.”
An impeachment effort at this stage “does nothing,” Beyer responded.
Seifeldein, who as a child came to the U.S. from Sudan as a refugee, also used the forum to call out Democrats for not denouncing what he termed a genocide of Palestinians by Israel.
First elected in 2014, Beyer is seeking his seventh term in Congress. He previously served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor for two terms, and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1997, losing to Republican Jim Gilmore.
In remarks at the forum, Beyer said his goal in office was “articulating a clear vision and then doing the things to make it a reality.”
“Six months from today … we will have control of the [federal] budget,” he said, anticipating Democratic victories in midterm elections.
At the forum, which drew about 200 people, Dunigan said Beyer and Democratic congressional leaders have maintained “an obstinate refusal” to change behavior and make way for the next generation. He urged local Democrats to “step forward into a new era.”
“We have a responsibility to evolve this party where we can,” Dunigan said.
Even though Dunigan took swings at Beyer throughout the night, he criticized the intensity of attacks being leveled on the incumbent by Seifeldein.
“This is why we are out of power — we self-cannibalize,” Dunigan said. “It’s counterproductive.”
Bruner is a resident of Stafford County. She entered the 8th District race when Democrats hoped voters would approve an unusual mid-decade redrawing of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts, and the new 8th would include her home.
When the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the redistricting plan, Bruner opted to stay in the race, despite not living in the 8th District. One reason, she said, was that the campaign needed a woman’s perspective in it.
Bruner said removing or outlasting Donald Trump needs to be her party’s key priority.
“Every time we try to do something, he knocks it down,” she said.
Like Duffin, Bruner worked to make the case that she would serve as a voice for the community if elected.
“I feel the pinch that you feel every day,” she told the crowd at Lubber Run Community Center. “You need to have someone who is feeling the pain like you do.”
Proceedings were interrupted a number of times by brief audience outbursts, but there seemed to be general alignment by candidates on most issues.
“I really want the things Michael, Lorena, Adam and Mo want,” said Beyer, who served eight years as Virginia’s lieutenant governor and made an unsuccessful run for governor before winning election to Congress.
On health care, Dunigan said, “I think everybody up here has the same plan: it has to end in a single-payer system.”
Beyer touted the benefits of seniority, saying he plans to vie for the chairmanship of the oversight subcommittee of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee if reelected.
Coupled with a potential Democratic majority, that would give Beyer a prime position if the party launches full-scale investigations into the Trump administration in 2027.
Toward the end of the forum, Dunigan acknowledged things had gotten “spicy,” but suggested the tenor of the debate is typical of Democratic nominating contests.
He urged voters to look past the fireworks and cast their ballot for a candidate that could provide “energy, vigor and fresh eyes.”
Seifeldein said the forum represented “healthy debate as a family,” and suggested he would back Beyer if the incumbent wins the primary.
“I would have Don Beyer over any Republican in Virginia — any day,” Seifeldein said.
Duffin’s estimate that Beyer has a 99% chance of winning the primary could be proved correct. With four challengers splitting the vote against him, and no ranked-choice voting in this election, Duffin, Seifeldein, Dunigan or Bruner could find it hard to map out a route to victory.
The 8th Congressional District includes all of Alexandria, Arlington and the city of Falls Church as well as portions of eastern Fairfax County, from McLean down to Mason Neck. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, the registered-voter breakdown of the district is:
- Fairfax County (portion): 240,027 voters, 43.88% of total
- Arlington (all): 180,792 voters, 33.05%
- Alexandria (all): 114,374 voters, 20.91%
- Falls Church City (all): 11,860 voters, 2.17%
Early voting is underway for the Democratic primary, whose winner will face Republican nominee Tony Sabio on Nov. 3. The primary will likely be the only election that matters, though, as the district is considered a Democratic stronghold.
In the 2024 general election, Beyer won nearly 72% of the vote in a four-candidate field.
A defeat of Beyer in the primary would be among the biggest local congressional upsets since liberal Del. George Rawlings in 1966 defeated conservative 36-year incumbent Rep. Howard “Judge” Smith in the Democratic primary.
That race was in the 10th District, which at the time included much of the geography of the current 8th District.
Rawlings proved too liberal for the district’s voters at the time, and got pummeled in the general election by Republican William Scott. Scott later advanced to the U.S. Senate, serving a single term from 1973-79.
NAACP branches to host candidate forum
NAACP branches in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County will host an 8th Congressional District candidate forum this Thursday, July 9 at 7 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church Worship Center (1401 Jamieson Avenue) in Alexandria.
The forum is “part of our commitment to ensure voters have access to information about those who are seeking office,” Arlington NAACP chair Rev. DeLishia Davis said.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) and challengers Lorena Bruner, Michael Duffin, Adam Dunigan and Mo Seifeldein have been invited to participate.
