But don’t be shocked if challenger Mo Seifeldein knocks off the establishment Congressman in next month’s Democratic primary.

by Ken Reid

Don Beyer is a desperate man – so desperate to keep his House seat (VA-8^th), the former two-term lieutenant governor, ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under Obama, and Falls Church Volvo dealer has been taking votes and making moves to avoid becoming the next Democrat Party Old Bull to bite the dust in a primary to a more-Leftist challenger.

Beyer has denounced President Trump’s proposed “arch” on land in Arlington, has legislation (backed by Sen. Tim Kaine lately) to rename the Robert E. Lee Mansion at Arlington Cemetery “Arlington House,” and was among the 103 House Democrats to vote to cut off all military aid to Israel. The other Virginia rep who did that was Bobby Scott (D-3rd).

These Beyer legislative moves are designed to mollify the growing far Left base in his district, which includes the ultra-liberal communities of Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and inside the Beltway in Fairfax County.

Beyer lost to Jim Gilmore for Virginia governor in 1997 and left politics, but after serving an ambassadorship under Obama, he came back in 2014, winning retiring Rep. Jim Moran’s (D) U.S. House seat.

Beyer, who turned 76 in June, faces four opponents in the Aug. 4 Democratic Party primary but only two seem to have an outside chance of knocking him off and continuing the trend this year of Leftist Democratic Socialists unseating establishment Democrats in low-turnout primaries in Deep Blue cities.

One candidate is Michael Duffin, a former federal employee who was DOGE’d, and Mo Seifeldein, who served two years on the Alexandria City Council and worked as a federal government attorney before going into private practice.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, both challengers have about the same amount of campaign cash -– roughly $28,000. Beyer, who serves on the House Ways & Means Committee and gets gobs of donations from special interests, had about $750,000 in his campaign war chest, according to VPAP.  Seifeldein’s web site states he is not accepting business PAC donations. 

I envision Seifeldein being the biggest threat to Beyer getting renominated for a seventh term. I am resident of the district and ran for state Senate in many of the 8^th’s precincts in 2023, so I know the demographics well.

First, Seifeldein has a voter base in Alexandria because his name has already been on a ballot for city council. Second, he is a Sudanese Muslim and the 8^th District has a big Muslim voter base. Current Lt. Governor Ghazala Hashmi, an Indian Muslim, milked that constituent group to edge out five Democratic primary challengers in June 2025. Seifeldein has been heavily courting the mosques.

Third, Seifeldein is the total opposite of Beyer. His family emigrated to the D.C. area when he was young and claims they all worked at McDonald’s. Beyer is from wealth and went to the elite Gonzaga Catholic high school in D.C. and Williams College. His car dealerships made him wealthy.

Seifeldein was endorsed by the New American Leaders Action Fund, which states on its Instagram site “actively seeks to appoint New Americans to local boards, commissions, and advisory roles to ensure the leadership in District 8 reflects the diversity of the community.” Beyer is endorsed by a bevy of establishment local and state Democrat politicians.

The Democratic Socialists of America have not endorsed anyone in this race.  Seidelfein, however, has adopted many DSA-supported positions, notably Medicare for All and opposition to military aid to Israel.

Beyer may think introducing legislation to erase Virginia Confederate history, cancel the “Arc d’Trump” or voting against aid to Israel will help him with the District’s far-Leftist base, but he’s dead wrong.

Looking like a worn-out old man at a recent debate before Arlington Democrats, Beyer Beyer was heckled. He touted the fact he is high enough in seniority to become chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee if Democrats regain control of the House in the November midterms.

Wide-eyed leftists who believe in identity politics care nothing about that. They get tear-jerky over electing “immigrant success stories” like Mo Seidelfein, or Bangladesh-born Saddam Salim (whom I challenged for state Senate) over establishment pragmatist Chap Petersen. Plus, many 8^th district voters salivate over Virginia electing its first Muslim and third black congress member. In addition, both Duffin and Seidelfein are young and come across being more vigorous.  

The district is 72-28 Democrat so the Republican nominee, Tony Sabio (who ran for Fairfax County School Board in 2023, and lost), has very little chance of winning Nov. 4.

Two years ago, Beyer squashed a far-left challenger in the June 2024 primary, but turnout will be even lower in this year’s August 4 primary, and with four challengers, the vote could be splintered. If Seifeldein gets the mosques to get out the vote for him, he could pull off a major upset.

If the “Mighty Mo” beats the “Desperate Don,” you will be hearing about Seifeldein on the 24-hour networks for weeks, but readers of Bacon’s readers can say they learned about it HERE first!

Ken Reid, a resident of the Tysons/Falls Church area in Fairfax County, served 10 years in local elected office in Loudoun County and in recent months has been fighting antisemitism in the D.C. region as DC/MD/VA chapter leader for the group, EndJewHatred.com.