DC resident announces run for Congress from Virginia’s 10th District

We told you a couple of weeks ago about how LuAnn Bennett, former wife of former Virginia Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA8), was going to be tapped as the Democratic nominee to take on presumptive Republican nominee, Rep. Barbara Comstock, in Virginia’s 10th District next year.

As we previously reported, Ms. Bennett lives in Washington, D.C., though she maintains a residence in Fauquier County (in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District). Despite this, and despite knowing she was registered to vote in the 5th District, Democrat power brokers in Northern Virginia have chosen her to be the next nominee to take on Comstock.

Below is a copy of an email provided to The Bull Elephant reflecting this decision:

——-Forwarded message——-
From: Gregory Brandon [email address redacted]
Date: Tue., Nov 24, 2015 at 3:14 PM
Subject: Democratic Candidate for 10th CD
To: Kathleen Murphy [email address redacted], John Foust [email address redacted], Rip Sullivan [email address redacted], Marcus Simon [email address redacted], “Strauss, Janie (home)” [email address redacted], Sheila Olem [email address redacted], Jennifer Boysko [email address redacted], Lisa Merkel [email address redacted]

Hey, All,

[see thread below.]
Sometime within the next two weeks the 10th CD Committee and LuAnn Bennett will announce her candidacy to run against Comstock. LuAnn is a registered voter in Delaplane, Fauquier County, 5th CD. I’m aware that Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution requires only that the Representative shall “be an inhabitant of that State in which [s]he shall be chosen.”

This is from the bio on her professional website http://www.bennettgroupdc.com/ :

Ms. Bennett leads Bennett Group with over 30 years of experience in the real estate world. A seasoned businesswoman, she began her career in real estate in her late husband’s office where she assisted in growing the business from a small real estate ownership and property management firm to a substantial real estate development firm and office building owner and operator. More recently she managed the movement of the firm into the real estate service area, building upon many years of experience as a developer, owner and operator of both commercial and residential buildings to provide quality real estate services. Ms. Bennett is a LEED accredited professional and works primarily in areas of sustainable construction, business development, management, financial and legal services. In 2008, she was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to serve on the Climate Change Commission for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ms. Bennett currently serves on the following boards: The Virginia Health Care Foundation, Charity Works Advisory Board and National Children’s Museum.

Adam Zuckerman is going to be LuAnn’s campaign manager. He is currently director of Mark Herring’s onecommonwealthva PAC (http://www.onecommonwealthva.com)>

If you haven’t already done so, please renew your FCDC/DDDC membership at https://act.myngp.com/Forms/-1425540414285936640.

Greg
[phone number redacted]

(Emphasis added). Yes, they understand that she owns a business in DC and lives in DC, but are relying on the fact that she’s registered to vote in Virginia–even though it’s outside the 10th District. All perfectly legal, if she actually is “an inhabitant” of Virginia.

This will explain why Ms. Bennett put her condo at the Ritz-Carlton in DC up for rent, for the measly sum of $7,500 per month. For RENT. Because she knows she won’t be out of town for long. Apparently she’s gotten a temporary place in McLean, near where Comstock lives.

Bennett made her announcement earlier today.

An NRCC spokesman summed it up best:

“Barbara Comstock is doing such a great job representing her Virginia constituents that Democrats have resorted to a fifth-tier candidate who doesn’t even live in the commonwealth,” said NRCC Spokesman Chris Pack.

Indeed.