Don Beyer, new Congressman in the heavily Democrat 8th District, has two Republican competing for the Republican nomination next week at the 8th District convention.
Charles Hernick is 34, an economist and environmental consultant who has lived in the district for 5 years. He has raised $18,000 for his uphill battle against Beyer who has raised $1.3 million. Hernick believes 2016 is the year that electorate is ready for change.
“The only thing clear to me about politics this year is that people are hungry for a change,”
Hernick not only believes in climate change but he thinks the government should do something about it. He describes himself as a ‘moderate’ republican who believes in small business and strong defense. He has not previously run for office.
The other candidate is Michael Webb who moved to the area in 2008. He is an a former Army officer, and son of a minister. From the Washington Post,
Webb a pro-life, pro-gun and anti-debt conservative who is the son of a Christian minister, asserted that Beyer won his 2014 election with 63 percent of the vote because Republicans ignored the importance of African Americans, churchgoers and the business community.
Webb, who is African American, said he is confident that he can put together a coalition that will surpass the typical Republican share of 34 percent of the vote in the 8th District, which includes all of Arlington County, parts of Fairfax and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.
Webb is partially self-funding and has not filed an updated financial report with the FEC. Webb says computer was hacked and he was unable to complete the report. He says he’s having trouble raising money because local Republicans have not supported him financially.
It is extremely difficult for a Republican to win in the 8th district so I admire these two gentlemen for trying.
