Rep. Beyer has another Republican opponent
Luke Nathan Phillips, a freelance tour guide, is running as a Republican against Rep. Don Beyer in Virginia’s 8th congressional district.
In launching his campaign on Dec. 1, Phillips said his main priority is protecting the National Park System and other public lands.
Phillips is running in the Republican Primary in June 2026, where which he hopes to earn the party’s nomination for the general election in November.
Anthony “Tony” Sabio, a military veteran, former member of the U.S. Secret Service, and a former CIA, officer, is also running in the Republican Primary.
Mohamed “Mo” Seifeldein, a former member of the Alexandria City Council who describes himself as a more progressive alternative, is challenging Beyer in the Democratic Primary.
Beyer, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, has served in Congress since 2015.
The 8th congressional district encompasses Annandale, Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church.
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Phillips, 32, of Arlington, describes himself as “an amateur historian, an avid outdoorsman, a volunteer for Scouting America, and a dedicated supporter of America’s public lands and historic preservation system,” as well as a mountaineer, re-enactor, and ultra-marathoner.
“Nobody in my party is doing enough to keep our sacred places from being sold off or closed down, and to keep their stewards from being laid off and losing funding,” Phillips said. “I want to support my fellow Republicans who are doing that work, and to remind my party of our responsibility to our public lands.”
Under President Trump and congressional Republicans, funding for national parks has been gutted and staff have been laid off, resulting in poor maintenance and inadequate collection of visitor fees, according to the New York Times. Signs displaying “negative” information about the nation’s history are being removed.
The administration has already begun actions to reduce conservation protections for other public lands. Proposals to allow mining and logging in public lands are under consideration.
Related story: Rep Beyer gets a progressive challenger
Phillips is a licensed Washington, D.C., tour guide, who has led walking tours for civic and student organizations around major monuments.
He refers to himself as a bipartisan civic activist. “I’ve spent my whole career bringing Republicans and Democrats and everybody else together to think about our common problems, and I intend to do that for the rest of my life,” he says.
Phillips worked as a Publius Fellow for Public Discourse at Braver Angels, “a cross-partisan, volunteer-led movement to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic,” from March 2021 to October 2024. Since then, he’s held brief positions at the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy and the New American Industrial Alliance.
As a motivation for running, Phillips cites his “dedication to the protection of America’s national parks, national forests, and other public lands; his faith in the future of Northern Virginia and its public servants, federal workers, military personnel, and policy advocates; and his love of country, in the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.”
Phillips’ father is a U.S. Naval officer, and his mother is an immigrant from the Philippines. “Many years ago,” he recounts, “my mom told me there are many ways to be a patriot. I want everyone else to remember that, too.”
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How incredibly biased of an article to describe Luke in such a fashion. Simply Google Luke Nathan Phillips and you will see he is a wonderful writer, and involved in fighting to repair broken families and communities through civil discourse. The fact that he does much of this work for free as a volunteer should tell you something about his character. We need a common man to represent common people, to fight to protect our lands. Reelecting the same people over and over again is like the definition of insanity repeating the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I absolutely recommend Luke.
This article drips with bias. Phillips is treated as “bad by default,” while every mention of him is paired with a negative framing or a partisan accusation. His background, experience, and stated priorities are brushed aside so the writer can insert an NYT narrative about Republicans “gutting” parks. Meanwhile, every other candidate gets a neutral or positive description.
If the purpose was to introduce all the candidates fairly, this certainly missed the mark. It reads more like an editorial disguised as reporting.
Good luck to Mr. Phillips, he has a difficult race in a heavily Democratic district in a year when Republicans will confront a very challenging political terrain. From his bio he appears to be a very decent and honorable person who genuinely cares about people and our environment. I wish him all the best as he meets the voters in the 8th CD and makes his case for election as Congressman.