Friday marked the first day of early voting for three primary elections—the 10th District House of Representatives Republican and Democratic races and the Republican Virginia United State Senate. Each of them will come to a head on June 18.
Sixteen candidates—12 Democrats and four Republicans—are vying for the 10th District House seat, which will be vacated by three term incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton at year’s end.
Sen. Tim Kaine does not face a primary fight for the seat he has held since 2013, but five Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination to challenge him in November.
While primary day for both parties is June 18, registered voters may cast their ballots early at the Office of Elections during normal office hours through June 15. The office will open other voting locations and offer longer voting hours for early voters starting in June.
Detailed information, including sample ballots, is available at loudoun.gov/voteearly.
10th District – Democratic Ballot
Jennifer B. Boysko
Jennifer B. Boysko has represented Virginia’s 38th Senate District since 2019. Before that she served in the House of Delegates from 2016 to 2019.
Boysko moved to Virginia in 1985 after being born in Arkansas and raised Alabama. She worked on Capitol Hill for former Democratic Sen. Richard Shelby. Now, she said, she lives four blocks from the 10th District border and pledges to move back into the district if she wins the election.
“I have served in both the House and Senate serving people in Loudoun County in my previous senate district over in 2018 until this past January. I served about 200,000 people who live in the 10th District,” she said.
Despite being out spent in previous elections, Boysko said she has emerged as a winner as is “battle tested.”
She lists her accomplishments as protecting reproductive rights, tackling gun violence, addressing traffic and transportation issues, growing the economy, protecting animal welfare, protecting the environment and improving healthcare.
Marion Devoe Sr.
Marion Devoe Sr. lives in Haymarket and is a former COO for the White House Executive Office under President George W. Bush. He served in Vietnam and attended Savannah State University and the University of Maryland.
Devoe said what sets him apart is his experience.
“I am not a career politician,” he said. “Whatever I run for, I will stick to that.”
He said his goal is to bring honesty back to the legislative branch and that he is concerned about the current state of the state government.
“My motto is honesty, leadership, experience,” he said, adding that he would work across the aisle to fight for affordable housing.
Devoe has lived in the district for 23 years.
Eileen Filler-Corn
Eileen Filler-Corn served in the House of Delegates from 2010 to 2024 representing District 41 and was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House in Virginia.
“I have been the only candidate in this race who has led the charge to take on Republicans to deliver results for all of the residents of the 10th congressional district, including Loudoun County,” she said .
Filler-Corn said she is ready to “hit the ground running” because of her experience working for senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both former Virginia governors.
She lists three leading issues on her platform as protecting reproductive freedom, passing gun safety laws, and ensuring voting rights, according to her website.
Filler-Corn has lived in Northern Virginia for 35 years.
Dan Helmer
Dan Helmer has served in the House of Delegates since 2020 representing its 10th District, which is located in Fairfax County. He was re-elected to that seat in 2023. Helmer graduated from West Point and served in Afghanistan following 9/11.
Helmer said, as the the son of an immigrant and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, standing up to threats to the country’s democracy has always been important to him.
“I believe Virginia 10 needs a fighter who stands up to defend our democracy and then turns around and is effective at legislating and I bring that to this race,” he said.
Helmer said he came to Northern Virginia after being stationed there by the Army.
Krystle Veda Kaul
Krystle Kaul is a small business owner, teacher and a former senior government official in the Department of Defense, holding the highest civilian rank. She was a director at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
She said what sets her apart from other candidates is her experience with high level intelligence working with the Department of Defense and under former Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
"I have a lot of on the ground experience that no other candidates has," she said adding that she has lived in both Israel and Palestine.
"I understand the situation at a very intricate level," Kaul said.
She listed her campaign priorities as defending women’s reproductive freedom, ending gun violence and fighting against MAGA extremists, according to her website.
Mark D. Leighton
Mark D. Leighton is a librarian at George Mason Law Library.
The issues on his platform include the economy and rising inflation, the cost of healthcare, the cost of higher education and women’s reproductive rights.
He said what sets him apart from his fellow candidates are his specific policy solutions to challenges the community is facing including inflation, immigration, border security and the economy.
“I’ve got some very specific policies that I think are analyzing what the problem is with something and then is directly trying to solve it,” he said.
Leighton moved to Manassas last year but first moved to the Washington, DC, area to be close to the political scene.
Michelle-Ann E. Lopes Maldonado
Michelle Lopes Maldonado was elected to represent the House’s 20th District in 2022.
She has worked on the United Nations Foundation’s Peace on Purpose Program, which she said gives her a wholistic approach to dealing with international issues.
Maldonado said she also has the ability to bring people together through controversial issues.
“I am a former tech lawyer. … This is something that is a gap need immediately,” she said adding that her expertise with artificial intelligence prepared her to be able to lead the 10th district through that challenge.
Maldonado first lived in Manassas in the 1970s and moved back as an adult in 1993.
Travis S. Nembhard
Travis S. Nembhard is an attorney and former adjunct law professor, former assistant attorney general and former administrative law judge.
His ability to communication with people who have strong views in opposition to his own sets him apart from other candidates, according to his website.
He will focus on combatting injustices, inequality, government overreach and misinformation.
Adrian A. Pokharel
Adrian Pokharel has served in the U.S. military as an Army captain, as well as the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency.
He and his wife, Sumi, live in the 10th District with their two daughters.
Pokharel’s campaign platform focuses on healthcare, education, the economy, infrastructure, safety, and immigration.
He holds a master’s degree in intelligence studies, a bachelor’s degree in finance and an associate degree in business administration.
Atif M. Qarni
Atif M. Qarni served as a U.S. Marine and a middle school teacher before being appointed as Virginia’s Secretary of Education from 2018 to 2021. He describes himself as a “lifelong activist” raising his voice and standing for “the issues close to his heart and community.”
What sets him apart is the time he has spent going from school to school and his experiences leading during COVID, as well as his public service, he said.
“I really take a systems approach where I identify all the system’s injustices that exist in our society and I fully lean in. So, I really lead from the front of it,” he said.
Qarni moved to Manassas 20 years ago after immigrating to the country from Pakistan when he was 10.
David A. Reid
David A. Reid was re-elected to represent Virginia’s 28th House District in 2023, a seat that he has held since 2018.
Reid served in the U.S. Navy deploying to South Korea and Iceland. He has lived in Ashburn since 2000.
He said what sets him apart from other candidates this year are his personal experience as a child in an orphanage and eventually a foster home.
“That gives me a degree of empathy that none of the other 11 people have,” he said.
In addition to that he said he and his family are engrained in the community after living in the area for so long.
Reid said his level of security clearance also uniquely prepared him to represent the 10th District and lead it through new challenges.
Suhas Subramanyam
Suhas Subramanyam currently represents Virginia’s 32nd Senate District, a role he was elected to Nov. 7, 2023, after serving in the House of Delegates from 2020 to 2024 representing the 87th District. He said he currently represents more of the 10th District than any of the other 11 Democratic candidates on the ballot.
“I’ve taken on really tough fights against really tough lobbies and won,” he said, mentioning Dulles Greenway toll rates, utility bills and gun violence prevention.
Subramanyam moved to the area in the 1970s before moving away and then settling with his family in Sterling then Ashburn eight years ago.
He said living in and being part of the community is an important part of what makes him qualified for the role.
“The people in Virginia’s 10th District have different issues then people who live closer to DC,” he said.
10th District – Republican Ballot
Manga A. Anantatmula
Manga A. Anantatmula is a first-generation immigrant from India.
She describes herself as pro-parent, pro-freedom and pro-women’s rights, and is running to keep the American Dream alive, according to her website.
Anantatmula said she will stand for all 10th District residents and not cave to lobbyists or outside influences.
Issues in her campaign include school choice, public safety, national security, support for veterans, small businesses, minority support and women’s rights.
Aliscia N. Andrews
Aliscia N. Andrews is Marine Corps veteran and has worked in national security.
While serving she provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Haiti and served in Europe, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
She completed her master’s in business administration in 2015 at Ashford University.
Andrews won the Republican nomination for this seat in 2020 but was beat by Wexton that November.
She lists top issues on her campaign platform as education, veterans, national security, economy, cybersecurity and drugs.
.andrewsva.com
Mike W. Clancy
Mike W. Clancy is a lawyer, business executive and national media commentator.
He earned a bachelor’s in government and philosophy from the University of Notre Dame before earning his law degree from George Washington University Law School.
Clancy also serves on the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Policy Committee.
He lists priorities for his campaign as the economy, governmental fiscal responsibility, securing the border, safe communities, strong national defense, individual liberty and constitutional rights, school choice and parental rights and the respect of life.
Alex H. Isaac Jr.
Alex H. Isaac Jr. served in the Army before retiring to the private sector and settling in Loudoun County 20 years ago.
But he said it is not his military background that sets him apart.
“The bottom-line up front is that I really am the only candidate that can win in the fall,” Isaac said.
He said he will be able to bring in voters from the middle of the aisle who identify as one party but are really on the fence between issues.
Isaac said the way he grew up gives him unique insight to challenges faced by minorities in the county. His father is from Iraq and his mom is from Bethlehem—both are Christians.
“When I talk to different constituents from all over the world, whether Muslim or Christian, I speak not just in their language but in terms of issues that are relevant to them such as freedom of speech and antidiscrimination and being able to practice your religion,” he said.
Virginia United State Senate – Republican Ballot
Hung Cao
Hung Cao is a retired Navy Captain who immigrated to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam and then West Africa, in 1975. He served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
Issues in his campaign include border security, opposition to DEI and CRT, the economy, education, election integrity, the environment, foreign policy, the second amendment, healthcare, democracy, the right to life, social security and Medicare and veterans.
Cao won the Republican bid for the 10th House District seat in 2022, but lost by Wexton.
He and his family live in Purcellville.
Jonathan W. Emord
Jonathan W. Emord worked as an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission during President Ronald Reagan’s administration and has authored five books.
He said his experience, proven track record of wining and history as a constitutional lawyer set him apart from the other candidates.
“I hold the record of defeating the FDA in federal court on constitutional grounds, which is eight times, and I’ve defeated numerous other agencies of the federal government,” Emord said. “And when three quarters of all federal law is made by those we don’t elect, the heads of these agencies, an intimate understanding of those agencies, how to defeat them and how to take them apart is criticalally necessary if we are restore a constitutional republic.”
Emord moved to the area in 1985.
Edward C. Garcia Jr.
Edward Garcia Jr. served in the U.S. Army for 22 years, undergoing six combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Garcia also served as a national security advisor and legislative liaison working with policy experts, legislators and the Pentagon.
Garcia said what makes him unique to the other four Republican candidates on the ballot is that he has not been “tainted” by recent politics.
“Republicans should pick me to against Tim Kaine because we need someone who can articulate the issues that are most important to most Virginians,” he said.
Garcia said Republicans can’t “play to hot button issues.”
“We need a better tomorrow with a government that works for all Americans, not just the people in Washington, DC,” he said.
C. L. “Chuck” Smith Jr.
Chuck Smith Jr. joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 and served two years of active duty, later joining the U.S. Navy where he served for 26 years as a legal officer.
After that, he earned a bachelor’s in political science and law degree from North Carolina Central University.
Smith is a licensed attorney in Virginia and Iowa and served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach from 2006 to 2008.
His platform includes supporting the constitution, protecting the second amendment rights, protecting life from conception, enforcing laws against illegal immigration, and fighting against governmental encroachment.
Scott Thomas Parkinson
Scott Parkinson spent 18 years working for three U.S. senators before serving as the executive director of the Republic Study Committee.
He served as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff while Desantis was running for the role in 2018.
He will fight for middle class families while championing economic growth policies and defending parental rights in education and restoring public safety, according to his website.
He and his wife, Cortlynn, live in Arlington with their four children.
This article was updated at 3:07 p.m. May 8 to include comments by Krystle Kaul.
(3) comments
Jennifer Wexton has served us well in the 10th and wish she could run again. She has set the standard for being a person who listens and speaks for what is right. There are so many good Dems running to take her place , only wish we could find some place for all of them in government. Thanks for the summary bios.
Dump the Democrats. Every trouble we are having right now is because of them... but as a warning to Republicans, we will hold your feet to the fire if you don't undo all the damage done by Biden, Chuckles, Nanny Nancy, and every other Democrat who votes in lock-step to take away individual liberties.
Yep. A booming economy. Low unemployment. And respect for the rule of law. Unlike what is being promoted by treason-loving MAGAts who have hijacked the Republican party. And speaking of individual liberties, how is a woman's right to choose holding up under the party of MAGAts?
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