Another candidate joins the race for Congress

Elizabeth Guzmán, a progressive Democratic member of the House of Delegates, has joined the crowded field of candidates running for Congress in the newly redrawn 7th District.

The Democratic and Republican primaries will be on Aug. 4.

Under Virginia’s new map of congressional districts, resulting from Virginia voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment on redistricting on April 21, the 7th District includes Annandale and other parts of Northern Virginia, as well as Republican-dominated areas to the south and southwest.

Related story: Virginia approves redistricting amendment

Guzmán, an immigrant from Peru and former social worker, is a division chief in the City of Alexandria’s Department of Adult Services, as well as a legislator.  

She flipped a long-time Republican incumbent when she was first elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 2017.

Guzmán cites her main accomplishments in the House of Delegates as ending Virginia’s ban on public sector collective bargaining, expanding Medicaid to 400,000 people, providing paid sick leave to home healthcare workers, and banning ICE from cooperating with local law enforcement.

Guzmán had planned to run for Virginia lieutenant government in 2021, but withdrew following a poor showing in a straw poll. She ran, unsuccessfully, for the Virginia Senate in 2022, and came in second in a Democratic primary for Congress in 2023, losing to Eugene Vindman. She ran for the House of Delegates again in 2025, unseating Republican incumbent Ian Lovejoy by nearly 10 points.

Eleven other Democrats are running in the 7th District primary including:

• Saddam Azlan Salim, an immigrant from Bangladesh, who represents the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County in the Virginia Senate. He focused on curbing ICE and banning assault weapons in the most recent session.

• J.P. Cooney, an attorney in Arlington, and former federal prosecutor who helped lead the investigations and prosecutions of President Trump in Jack Smith’s Special Counsel’s Office.

• Del. Dan Helmer, of Fairfax Station, a West Point graduate who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He currently represents Centreville, Clifton, and parts of the Braddock District in the House of Delegates.

• Olivia Troye, a national security expert and former aide to Vice President Mike Pence, who is running as an anti-Trump Democrat.

• Del. Adele McClure, of Arlington, was elected to the House of Delegates in 2024. She was previously the executive director of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, associate director of eviction prevention at the Virginia Department of Community Development, and policy director for former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

• Former Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe (2014-18), a former special representative for global partnerships at the State Department.

• Joe Schiarizzi, a housing activist from Arlington and the Northern Virginia regional lead for Yimbys (“yes in my backyard”).

Related story: Former aide to VP Pence runs for Congress as a Democrat

Among the six Republicans running in the primary for the new 7th Congressional District:

• Tara Durant, a member of the Virginia Senate since 2024, representing Fredericksburg and parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, and former member of the House of Delegates (2022-24).

• Douglas Ollivant, of Culpeper, an Army veteran and federal consultant.

• Darius Mayfield, a resident of Stafford County, chairman of BE American Enterprises and Tunnell Contracting.

• Waverly “Wave” Washington, a military veteran who vows to “push back against extreme policies, defend common sense, and protect our freedom.”

• John Gray, a marine veteran who calls himself “a proud MAGA Republican and makes no apology for it.”