Northern Virginia is home to the 8th Congressional District. It includes parts of Fairfax County, plus all of Arlington County and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.
Home to many who work in the District of Columbia, or whose businesses depend on the U.S. government, the 8th Congressional District is one deeply affected by events in the Nation’s Capitol.
It is also historically a strong Democratic district. Gov. Abigail Spanberger won more than 80 percent of the vote in the 8th during her 2025 run for the Governor’s Mansion, and Kamala Harris carried 73 percent of the electorate in the 2024 presidential race.
Republicans have carried the district in the past, but the last time that occurred was between 1981 and 1991 and Stanford Parris held the seat.
It’s been in Democratic hands ever since, first with Jim Moran from 1991 to 2015, and now under incumbent Don Beyer, who began serving after Moran’s tenure ended.
Platforms
INCUMBENT: Don Beyer (D-VA)
CHALLENGER: Tony Sabio (R)
CHALLENGER: Shelly Arnoldi (Libertarian)
CHALLENGER: Tim Sharman (Independent)
State of the Race as of August 24th
Cook Political Report: Strong Democratic
270 to Win: Strong Democratic
VPAP: Strong Democratic
Don Beyer is seeking a seventh consecutive term in the House of Representatives. He currently is the senior Democrat on Congress’ Joint Economic Committee. He also serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. He is a member of the New Democrat Coalition and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. A vocal critic of the Trump tariffs, Beyer supports expanding universal paid leave and expanding the child tax credit. He’s also expressed concern about climate change and has worked toward policies that will lower carbon emissions. He is also a critic of the immigration tactics deployed during the Trump administration.
Beyer’s Republican opponent is Tony Sabio. A veteran of the U.S. Navy and former member of the Secret Service and the CIA, Sabio is running on a platform grounded in his “Promise for America.” The promise has five pillars: 1. Energy affordability, 2. American jobs, 3. Small business, 4. Safe communities, and 5. The American Health Freedom Plan.
There are two additional candidates running. Shelly Arnoldi is a libertarian whose policies focus on strong schools and families, lower taxes and increased opportunities, accountable government, and safe communities. A U.S. Navy veteran and licensed engineer, Arnoldi spent most of her professional career managing facilities and construction projects for Department of Defense Schools, the Smithsonian, and the National Gallery of Art.
Tim Sharman is a British born naturalized American citizen who is running as an independent candidate focusing on fixing problems. Affordability issues are his major concern, and advocates for focusing on solutions over performative politics. He also believes that politics suffers from a problem that should be relatively easy to fix – the restoration of kindness.
What to Watch: Don Beyer
Beyer has a substantial financial advantage over his opponents. As of the July filing, he reports more than $830,000 in funds available. Sabio is the next closest with just over $17,000.
He also benefits from Trump’s poor approval ratings and ongoing northern Virginia anger over job cuts during DOGE.
Barring a collapse of epic proportions, this race is Beyer’s to lose.
Tony Sabio, however, is worth keeping an eye on. Though he is unlikely to win, his platform is that of a Reaganite. His “Promise for America” takes its cue, per his words, from Newt Gingrich’s “Contract for America.” Per Sabio’s website: “Like the spirit behind the Contract with America, this is a public commitment to the American people.”
As Republicans begin to think toward a post-Trump world, if Sabio can make inroads in the 8th’s Democratic base, it may be a sign the party across Virginia may want to pay attention to.
