Virginia Democrats vying for Rep. Wexton’s seat in Congress pitch themselves to voters at NAACP Loudoun event

LEESBURG, Va. (DC News Now) — Eleven of the 12 democratic candidates running in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District primary met at a forum hosted by NAACP Loudoun on Thursday night.

Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, the Democrat who currently holds the seat, is not running for re-election as she battles a rare and aggressive form of Parkinson’s disease.

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The candidates who attended were:

• State Sen. Jennifer Boysko

• Marion Devoe, a former George W. Bush White House official

• Former Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn

• Del. Dan Helmer

• Krystle Kaul, a former senior defense official

• Mark Leighton, a longtime Democrat volunteer

• Del. Michelle Maldonado

• Travis Nembhard, a former Obama White House official

• Adrian Pokharel, a veteran and former CIA officer

• Del. David Reid

• State Sen. Suhas Subramanyam

Atif Qarnia, Virginia’s former Secretary of Education, is running but his chief of staff appeared in his place.

The candidates began the panel by attempting to differentiate themselves by sharing their backgrounds and priorities.

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When asked what their most important issue is, candidates responded as such:

• Bosyko: Protecting reproductive rights

• Devoe: Protecting reproductive rights

• Filler-Corn: Passing an assault weapons ban

• Helmer: Protecting democracy

• Kaul: Codifying Roe v. Wade

• Leighton: Tackling inflation

• Maldonado: AI and new tech

• Nembhard: Protecting reproductive rights

• Pokharel: Mental health

• Reid: Protecting reproductive rights

• Sumbramanyam: Passing budgets

The candidates were also asked if they would support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and asked to raise their hand if they would vote yes. Seven of the candidates did, though Filler-Corn, Helmer, Subramanyam and Leighton kept their hands down.

The forum lasted about 90 minutes and was followed by a meet-and-greet with voters.

“I wanted the audience to take a second look at candidates to make sure that we’re not just giving away our vote blindly, that we are picking the representative that will represent us and represent our issues,” said Pastor Michelle Thomas, who leads NAACP Loudoun.

Four Republicans are running for the nod in their party’s primary. The district, which is made up mostly of Loudoun County voters – but includes Rappahannock County, Fauquier County and parts of Fairfax and Prince William Counties – is a likely Democratic seat, according to the Cook Political Report.

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