About the Candidates
Dan Helmer
Dan Helmer is running in the Democratic primary in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District to take on Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock. Helmer is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in Afghanistan and served for more than a decade in counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and intelligence as an active duty Army officer. While Helmer remains in the US Army Reserves, he has also had a private career as a business strategist.
The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Helmer wanted to defend the country that has done so much for his family. Helmer attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and then served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Korea. While at West Point, he served as Hillel President and went on to earn a Rhodes Scholarship.
His advocacy as a friend of Israel is not only political, but also deeply personal — his father grew up around Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bases where his grandfather, a veteran of the Haganah and Israel’s War of Independence, was serving.
As a veteran with a strong security background, Helmer understands the capabilities and limits of military power. Accordingly, he supports active US leadership in achieving a two-state solution. Helmer also supports maintaining US commitments to international institutions such as the UN, whom are necessary partners in diplomacy. When it comes to Israel’s security, Helmer is dedicated to supporting Israel’s defense capabilities through robust US aid, and he also views the Iran nuclear agreement as the only way to prevent Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon.
Alison Friedman
Alison Friedman is running in the Democratic primary in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District to take on Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock. Friedman formerly served in the State Department where she worked to intensify the Obama Administration’s focus on combatting human trafficking at home and abroad. Her work resulted in an executive order that strengthened protections against trafficking in persons throughout federal contracts. Through her anti-trafficking work, Friedman has traveled the world and worked with international officials, religious leaders, non-profit organizations and people from across the aisle to protect children and families.
Friedman is Jewish and feels deeply connected to the Passover lesson that as long as others suffer, we can never be fully free. These values inform her relationship with Israel and her commitment to strengthening the US-Israel relationship. Friedman is committed to ensuring Israel’s long-term security through a two-state solution. She believes that the US has an important role to play in brokering these negotiations. Friedman also understands that the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran would be a serious threat to Israel, the United States, and to the world, and thus supports the continued implementation of the JCPOA.
State Senator Jennifer Wexton
State Senator Jennifer Wexton is running in the Democratic primary in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District to take on Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock. Wexton has been serving the people of Northern Virginia for almost two decades, as a prosecutor, an advocate for children, and as a legislator focusing on issues of concern to families. From 2001 to 2005, Wexton served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Loudoun County, and in 2010, she was selected by the Chief Judge of the Loudoun Circuit Court to serve as a Substitute Judge in the District Court. In 2014, Wexton was elected to the Virginia Senate, earning 53% of the vote in a three-way race. She won re-election in 2015. During her four-year tenure, she has passed 39 bills, all with bipartisan support.
As an elected official in Virginia, Wexton has been keenly aware of and disturbed by the recent spike of anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism that was tragically displayed during the events in Charlottesville this summer. Wexton understands that Israel fills a crucial need for a Jewish homeland, and she is dedicated to strengthening the US-Israel relationship. As such, she sees an important role for the US to play in brokering a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. As an important tool of US foreign policy, Wexton is committed to maintaining vital foreign aid to Israel and the PA.
Lindsey Davis Stover
Lindsey Davis Stover is running in the Democratic primary in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District to take on Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock. Throughout her career, Davis Stover has been a champion of veterans’ issues. She first became an advocate for veterans when fighting to help her grandfather receive assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Davis Stover served in the Obama Administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs, working on important initiatives to increase access to care for veterans, reduce veterans’ homelessness and transform the VA to better serve women veterans.
After serving on Capitol Hill as Chief of Staff to Texas Democrat Chet Edwards, Davis Stover attended the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. While a student at the Kennedy School, Davis Stover traveled to Israel and had the chance to hear and learn from top leaders, including President Shimon Peres, that peace is achievable. She believes that a two-state solution that restores stability in the region is a fundamental American interest and priority. Davis Stover also strongly supports the continued implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement and will fight efforts in Congress to disrupt the deal.
