Four Republicans campaigning to run against Rep. Connolly
Four candidates are campaigning for the Republication nomination to run against Rep. Gerry
Connolly in the 11th congressional district.
Connolly was re-elected in the 2020 general election with 71.4 percent of the vote.
Due to redistricting, a large part of Annandale has shifted from the 11th to the 8th congressional district. Rep. Don Beyer represents the 8th district.
The Republicans will select their nominee at a firehouse primary on May 7 at the University of North America in Fairfax.
The two candidates who were campaigning against Connolly in the Democratic Primary – Ally Dalsimer and Dereje Gerawork – failed to qualify. As a result, Connolly is the Democratic nominee.
Here are the GOP candidates:
• Manga Anantatmula ran against Connolly in 2020, getting just 28 percent of the vote.
Anantatmula describes herself as pro parent, pro America, and pro freedom. She opposes Covid vaccine and mask mandates, the teaching of critical race theory, and rights for transgender students.
Related story: Five Republicans campaigning to run against Rep. Beyer
She lobbied hard against the Fairfax County School Board’s equitable admissions standards for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
Anantatmula has been endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), state Sen. Amanda Chase, and Tom Pafford, who ran for the school board in 2019 and the House of Delegates in 2021. She has raised much more money than the other three candidates.
• Joseph Babb is a retired diplomat with the U.S. Department of State. He later worked on international trade negotiations for the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
His website talks about the need to bring civility back to political discourse and reject baseless conspiracy theories. He says “the ballooning national debt” is the nation’s most urgent problem.
• Matthew Chappell, an Army veteran, worked as a counterintelligence contractor and national security advisor with the Department of Defense.
Chappell’s top priorities are protecting the Second Amendment, protecting citizens’ rights against warrantless searches, opposing abortion, supporting veterans, and opposing “divisive ideologies, such as critical race theory.”
• Jim Myles, a retired U.S. administrative law judge, says he believes in “free markets, small government, faith, family, assuming personal responsibility with a shared duty for the care of those in need.” He is pro-life, a member of the National Rifle Association, and a staunch defender of the Second Amendment.
On education, Myles says: “Our children need a stellar education, not indoctrination in the progressive movement and sexualization of everything in our schools. There are no women’s rights for biological males.”
Myles’ position on immigration calls for “anyone in the country illegally to register and return to their country of origin. They would be vetted and then admitted on a priority basis in a legal status with a pathway to citizenship.”
13 responses to “Four Republicans campaigning to run against Rep. Connolly”
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So … four backwards losers running for the GOP as usual.
Based on your previous complaints about religious practices, this take doesn’t surprise me.
Disagreeing with ludicrous liberal tripe and upholding the Constitution is not backwards. Its refreshing to others who think that way (about half of registered voters) as opposed to what mainstream media publishes daily.
I don’t know anything about these candidates except for the summaries provided but I’ll credit Joseph Babb for not following the typical republican script of going along with the culture war topics that have been invented by conservative media over the past few years. He actually wants to tackle a real problem, the national debt, and move away from all of these baseless conspiracy theories. So when the Republicans have the House (very likely) and even the presidency, will they just focus on banning more books (without saying why) and threatening teachers until there are none left or will they tackle inflation and Russia, you know, actual problems?
I agree GT. I can seriously appreciate that he is running towards the middle rather than running towards the fringe. The fact that he wants to seek membership of the problem solving caucus is good. Definitely the best sounding and most normal seeming republican I’ve seen in a long time, and I hope those like him can re-take control of their party from the crazies.
Sane republicans sounds like a refreshing idea, but it seems like the only place sane republicans will run is in Democratic strongholds.
If you look outside blue areas, you see the exact opposite. JD Vance in Ohio called trump America’s Hitler 5 years ago, and now he can’t speak Trump enough praise.
So, when Republicans take control, what kind of governance do you expect? Sane republicans or the opposite?
If the headlines in the news from republican controlled states are at all representative, it’s just tax cuts (except if you support the gays), xenophobic fear mongering, and culture wars. Just like all the Republicans other than the sane ones trying to win in NoVA are advertising.
None of these candidates have any real chance of winning I wouldn’t think. Not in NoVA.
I agree, but hopeful. Nova is a 70% democrat, so chances are really slim. However, more tradicionally liberal citizens and parents are fed up, and I don’t believe it’s only me.
GO GOP! African Americans are with you!
Really, can any of the candidates running against Gerry Connally be more “insane” than the Democrats? I don’t think so. I agree to focus on what matters but different things matter to different people so I’m looking for a candidate who will be concerned with all of the “insane” topics that have been created by the Democrat Party.
Republican or Democrat…..if we don’t start having civility in our politics we are headed for a dark road that nobody can predict. The only candidate in this group promoting that path is Joe Babb. With the district so heavily weighted towards Democrats, any Republican MUST pull Democrat voters over or this is just a protest stance that is destined to lose. And Mr. Babb appears to be the only candidate attempting to build that bridge.
I have to agree with previous comments. Joe Babb seems the candidate with the most common sense. I was very impressed with his website content wise. I’ve heard in one interview he wrote it, not a consulting firm, that says a lot. There you can find what he stands for. I found other candidates’ sites lacking.
The democratic party is moving away more and more from my beliefs, so I hope decent Republicans restore the balance before extreme left ideology ruins American society. I’ll be voting red this time, and I hope Joe Babb unseats Connolly.
I think if anyone knew Joe Babb, his family, his true beliefs, his nature and what he stands for, he/she would think twice before voting for him, as what he says on his page doesn’t go with who he truly is. “Civility”, “Honesty” and “Respect” would not be on the description list for this individual.
He talks about women’s rights but accentuates on sexual harassment. What about women’s equality and rights in terms of abortion? Alternatives to abortion? Are you in the right mind? So you are going to help women during the first months or so after delivery, maybe spiritual support, some formula for the baby, etc. It is not like that baby will not continue to live past those 2-3 months, grow up, continue to need food, clothing, education, as well as have other needs (parental presence, healthcare, social-emotional needs). Talking about raising responsible successful generations! What about the mother’s needs and her mental state? That is only one example. Same problem when talking about foreign policy. A “supremacy issue”. United States is not God and we should take care of our own internal issues before “helping” others, mind our own business unless the “troubled” side asks for help.
He is an economist and that’s what he knows. However, our region, state and our country as a whole has so many more issues than just economics and finance, and all of them are equally important.
After reading through his detailed issues page, all I could think at the end was “What an entitled white supremacist!” and that is exactly how he acts and talks about people of other race. By no means I am saying that everything he wrote is wrong, he definitely makes some good points, but a lot of that is questionable in terms of his true beliefs, values and ability to successfully achieve his proposed goals.
Half of the comments on here seem to be either trolls or made up new accounts to promote self.
Good luck to all in this race!