This Tuesday, Virginia holds primaries for both the Republican and Democratic nominations for Congress. However, in the end, there’s really only one competitive race in a “purple” district – for the GOP(Q) nomination in VA07 (for a ton of information on that race, see here, and note that you definitely will NOT get much if anything of substance from the WaPo, which is almost all “horse-race”/”who’s-up-who’s-down drivel). As for the other primaries, they’re all either not expected to be competitive – Republican Jen Kiggans should win easily in VA02; the Republican nominee in VA03 will get crushed by Rep. Bobby Scott (D) in November; Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) will likely demolish Merritt Hale (R); and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) should cruise to an easy nomination over Democratic challenger Victoria Virasingh (note: according to VPAP, the “over/under” in this primary is Beyer with 85%).
On that sole Democratic primary, in VA08, I strongly recommend that everyone vote to re-nominate Rep. Don Beyer, as he’s done a superb job since he was first elected in 2014 (to replace Jim Moran, who retired) and richly deserves reelection for that reason. See below for just a few of *many* examples of how Rep. Beyer has been an effective and progressive leader who has more than earned VA08 Democrats’ votes!
- Rep. Don Beyer Introduces Reconciliation-Ready Legislation To Restrict Assault Weapons; Would Impose 1,000% Excise Tax on Assault Weapons, High-Capacity Magazines (Beyer’s definitely been a leader when it comes to stemming the plague of gun violence in our country)
- Grading VA’s Leading Democratic, Republican U.S. House Candidates, Nominees on Arguably the Top Two Issues Facing Us: Democracy and the Climate Crisis (Beyer gets an A+ on both, as he’s both a climate and democracy champion!)
- U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Chair, Rep. Don Beyer: “The latest jobs data showing continued growth underscore the strength of our economic rebound.” (I’m including this item to note that Beyer is Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, which shows the level of respect he has among his peers when it comes to economic issues.)
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Joins Bipartisan Delegation Backing NATO Bids For Finland And Sweden With House Resolution (Also note that, as the former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechstenstein, Beyer has extensive foreign policy experience, which is obviously crucial these days.)
- Rep. Don Beyer Lauds Interior Department Actions Promoting Conservation and Restoration of Wildlife Corridors (Beyer is superb when it comes to animal welfare, wildlife conservation and environmental protection issues!)
- Beyer Introduces Half Earth Resolution On Birthday Of E.O. Wilson
- Congressman Don Beyer: “Abortion Access Is Key to Economic Freedom” (Beyer is also a champion of women’s reproductive choice/freedom.)
- Trump’s decision to end DACA betrays nearly one million Dreamers, young people who grew up with this country as their own. (Beyer has stood up for immigrants against Republicans’ xenophobia.)
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Continues Opposition To Taxpayer-Funded Stadium Construction As Possible Legislation Looms In Richmond (Beyer nails it – “Super-rich sports team owners like Dan Snyder do not need” taxpayer support)
- Video: Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA08), Bobby Scott (D-VA03) Lay Out Progress, Path to Universal Health Care Coverage (Beyer supports expanding health care coverage.)
- Video: Reps. Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer Speak In Support of DC Statehood Legislation, Which Passes the U.S. House
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08): “At long last, Donald Trump will leave office tomorrow… I was here through it all, and can attest to Trump’s historic legacy of failure.” (Beyer spoke out forcefully against the many depredations, abuses of power and crimes of Donald Trump and his administration.)
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Calls for House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy to Resign For Having “spread the very lies that helped incite this violence” (Beyer is also a fierce opponent of the far-right Republicans in the U.S. House, including their appalling leader, Kevin McCarthy.)
- Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) React to Trump’s “Completely Crazy” Comments About Wind Power (Beyer is a huge proponent of clean energy.)
- Reps. Beyer, Lieu Seek Office Of Special Counsel Investigation Of Jared Kushner For Hatch Act Violations
- Beyer Votes For Historic Voting Rights, Anti-Corruption and Ethics Reform Legislation (“For The People Act passes House; includes text of Beyer’s youth pre-registration bill”)
- Rep. Beyer Hails House Passage Of The Equality Act (Beyer is strongly pro-LGBTQ equality, dignity, respect, etc.)
This could really go on all day, but that’s just a small sampling of why every VA08 Democratic voter should want to see super-strong progressive and environmentalist Rep. Don Beyer re-nominated on Tuesday and reelected in November!
