Reedville, VA – Following today’s referendum result, Jason Knapp announced that he will run for Congress in Virginia’s newly formed 8th District, offering Democrats a new generation of leadership built on three commitments: affordability, action, and accountability. 

“Tonight’s result makes clear that Virginians are ready for something different,“ Knapp said. “Democrats lost every branch of the federal government in 2024. That was not a messaging failure. It was a leadership failure. This district – and this party – need a new generation of leaders ready to fight for working families, hold the Trump administration accountable, and deliver results people can see in their own lives.” 

“I grew up in Alexandria, raised by a single mother who relied on food stamps and Medicaid when times were tough. I know what it means when the safety net works – and I know what it means when families are forced to stretch every dollar. After 21 years in the Navy, I came home to Virginia to raise my own kids. I am running because I am not willing to stand by while this administration takes from them the safety net that saved my family. I’m not about to let Donald Trump and today’s Republican Party endanger our families, undermine our democracy, and drag us backward without a fight.”

Since launching his campaign in November, Knapp has drawn support from more than 8,000 individual donors across Virginia and the country, raising over $500,000 with more than $260,000 cash on hand – a grassroots coalition built without a single dollar from corporate PACs.

Knapp said his campaign will focus on three commitments: affordability – lowering healthcare costs, taking on the industries driving up prices, and making life more affordable for working families; action – a disciplined, results-focused agenda modeled on the way problems get solved outside of Washington; and accountability – for the Trump administration, and for a Democratic Party that has to be honest about why it lost. 

“I’m pledging to serve no more than four terms. Eight years is enough time to do the work and then step aside. In the military, every commander knows their job is to develop the next generation of leaders — better, bolder, more capable than they were. You get your time. You do your work. Then you step aside. That is how healthy institutions work. A gavel is not an honorific. It is a responsibility. If we want a different kind of Congress, we have to send people who are willing to hold themselves to that standard first.”

ABOUT JASON KNAPP

Knapp is a 21-year Navy combat veteran and former senior staff officer at NATO International Military Staff in Brussels. He flew more than 35 combat missions over Iraq as an F/A-18 pilot, served as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs for U.S. European Command at the Pentagon, and worked as a Navy Defense Legislative Fellow supporting the House Armed Services Committee, where he wrote legislation that became law supporting veterans. He was raised in Alexandria by a single mother who relied on food stamps and Medicaid, and attended the University of Virginia on an ROTC scholarship. He and his wife Jen are raising three young children in Virginia.

ABOUT THE VA-08 RACE:

Virginia’s newly formed 8th District combines portions of Northern Virginia with the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, and Tidewater regions. While the district leans Democratic, it brings a wide range of communities and local priorities, making the August primary a test of which Democrat can build a durable coalition across the full district.