Securing more than 45% of the vote, Don Beyer, Jr. won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Virginia’s 8th congressional district seat to replace retiring Rep. Jim Moran. With all precincts reporting, the Falls Church businessman earned 17,780 votes, top most among the 10 candidates on the ballot, according to unofficial results from the State Board of Elections. State Del. Patrick Hope came in second with 18.25% of the vote while State Sen. Adam Ebbin finished third with 13.57% of the vote.
Beyer declared victory early Tuesday evening, saying he had loved “every minute of this race,” and thanking his supporters and his fellow candidates alike.
“Tonight is the culmination of the hard work, the heartfelt values, and the shared ideas of many, many, many good people,” Beyer said. “I am honored and humbled to be your standard bearer … Now we turn our attention to November … We must carry the Virginia ideals of integrity, community, progress, and compassion forward to all voters.”
Beyer talked about the central issues of the campaign — including climate change, gun safety, and income and wealth inequality – and promised to work hard to find solutions.
Beyer said: “The last few weeks, I have taken to quoting St Augustine of Hippo, who said, ‘Hope has two beautiful daughters, Anger and Courage. Anger about the way things are. And Courage to change them.’”
The campaign field effort included over 164,000 door knocks and phone calls, aided by 368 volunteers. Nearly 1,700 individuals contributed to the former Lieutenant Governor’s campaign.
In addition to being a two-term lieutenant governor, Beyer is the co-owner of Don Beyer Volvo, a family business of nine auto dealerships. He is the former ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and ran the transition for the Department of Commerce under President Obama.
In Falls Church, out of 1,091 total votes, Beyer netted 783 votes, good for 71.77% of all those cast in the City. Rounding out the F.C.’s vote, it was Hope in second with 11.92%, Mark Levine at third with 6.05%, Ebbin in fourth with 3.39%, Lavern Chatman with 2.93%, Bill Euille with 2.29%, Derek Hyra with 1.1%, Bruce Shuttleworth with 0.37% and Satish Korpe with 0.18%.
