Arlington Democrats aim to lend elbow grease to downstate congressional races |

With Democrats bracing for the possibility of a rough day at the polls nationally in November, the Arlington County Democratic Committee is working to line up its organizational might in support of some embattled incumbents among Virginia’s U.S. House of Representatives contingent.

“We need to work with our ‘Beyond Arlington’ group to help re-elect our delegation,” party chair Steve Baker said at the Democrats’ July 6 monthly meeting. “There are a lot of great opportunities out there – look for those opportunities.”

Perhaps sensing the prospect of losing the House of Representatives, Baker called for an all-hands-on-deck effort.

“Through phone-banking or canvassing or texting or any other number of ways to get involved . . . I encourage everyone to do so,” Baker said. “Now is the time.”

Arlington Democrats are likely to have little trouble getting their candidates – Don Beyer for Congress, Matt de Ferranti for County Board and Bethany Sutton for School Board – across the finish line with significant majorities. So resources will be dispatched to help Democrats who may be in trouble, including U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger in the 7th District and Elaine Luria in the 2nd District. Each was first elected in 2018; their seats are seen by Republicans as prime pickup possibilities, as the GOP only needs a handful of districts to flip to gain control of the House of Representatives.

(Whether a “red wave” of Republican wins materializes remains to be seen. It might be worth watching the 10th District, where incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton currently is seen as safe; if Democrats begin to pump resources into her race, it would suggest the party is looking for a really rough night on Nov. 8.)

The Arlington Democrats’ “Beyond Arlington” initiative has been in place for a number of years, and in the past has worked on General Assembly races downstate as well as key races across the nation.

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