Republicans call move a ‘power grab’ and question the optics; Democrats say voters will ultimately decide.
Virginia Del. Dan Helmer launched his third congressional campaign on Wednesday, backed by a slate of Democratic leaders. Just a few hours later, he brushed aside accusations that he helped engineer a congressional district for himself, arguing instead that he did exactly what his party’s leaders elected him to do: win.
“My role was electing a Democratic majority two years ago so we could fight back against what Trump is doing and reelect it this year,” Helmer said in an interview with The Mercury, dismissing criticism that his congressional bid presents bad optics.
Helmer, 44, is seeking his party’s nomination in a newly drawn 7th Congressional District — a seat expected to favor Democrats if voters approve a constitutional amendment in April allowing mid-decade redistricting. The New York Times reported Wednesday morning that Helmer’s formal announcement was imminent.
The Fairfax Democrat, who has served in the House of Delegates since 2020 and chairs the House Democratic Caucus’ campaign arm, said his principal role was ensuring Democrats had the numbers to advance their priorities and “push back against” President Donald Trump.
“I think we need an aggressive warrior, so I threw a punch that landed,” Helmer said. “I’ve proven that time and again, whether it’s the constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights, gay marriage, or voting rights, or to level the playing field against Donald Trump.”
Top Democratic leaders echoed that defense, arguing that Helmer’s work to secure and expand the party’s majority speaks for itself.
“I think voters will figure that out,” House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said of criticism surrounding Helmer’s candidacy. “If they don’t want to vote for him for that reason, they can do that. I think he played a large role in delivering these majorities that we have, and I think voters trust him.”
Republicans blast optics of Helmer’s candidacy
But Republicans were quick to frame Helmer’s candidacy as proof that the redistricting effort — which would shift Virginia from its current 6-5 Republican congressional split to a map likely favoring Democrats 10-1 — was driven by partisan ambition.
“I think it does look bad,” House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, said of Helmer’s plans.
“The whole process looks terrible, because all it is is a power grab. We feel the optics are bad, and I think, ultimately, we’re going to win this case. We’re going to win at the ballot box, and we’re going to win in the court system. That’s what I predict, because people are really irritated about this.”
Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, accused Helmer of shaping the redistricting effort to his personal advantage.
“You have a leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, on the Democratic side, who crafts maps for his benefit, and he’s just the next one,” McNamara said. “They’re enacting laws to help them get elected to Congress, not enacting laws to help Virginians get ahead. They’re helping themselves get ahead. It was so transparent, I hope the voters can really see through it.”
In the Senate, Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, said the optics of “trying to gerrymander Virginia” are “not good,” regardless of whether one individual benefits.
A political rise shaped by redistricting and party gains
Helmer, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point who later earned a master’s degree at Wolfson College, Oxford, as a Rhodes scholar, served tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and South Korea. He is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Helmer entered state politics in 2019 on a platform centered on gun control and abortion rights, flipping the last Republican-held House seat in Fairfax County as Northern Virginia continued its shift toward Democrats.
As campaigns chair, Helmer helped Democrats retake the House majority in 2023 and expand it in 2025.
Last fall, he played a key behind-the-scenes role in devising and implementing the redistricting strategy, then marshaled support in Richmond for the first round of votes on the constitutional amendment. He later recused himself from the map-drawing process, the New York Times reported.
The proposed new 7th District — often described as lobster-shaped — would stretch from the Potomac River in Arlington west to the West Virginia border and south past Richmond into Powhatan County.
Vice President Kamala Harris won 54% of the vote there in 2024, and President Joe Biden carried it with 56% in 2020.
The seat is one of four new districts likely to favor Democrats if voters approve the amendment on April 21. Helmer is the second Democrat to enter the race, following J.P. Cooney, a former federal prosecutor.
Helmer has sought a congressional seat before.
In 2018, he lost the Democratic primary in Virginia’s 10th District to Jennifer Wexton, who went on to win the seat.
In November 2023, shortly after winning reelection to his House seat, Helmer announced a second bid for the 10th after Wexton declined to seek reelection because of illness. He lost that primary to then-state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam, now the incumbent.
During that 2024 nomination contest, a sexual harassment allegation against him surfaced, but Helmer was never charged. He filed a defamation lawsuit against his accusers, and last month settled with the final defendant in the case.
Despite the losses, Helmer has built a base in Fairfax County and among Democratic leaders in Richmond. According to his campaign, he has secured endorsements from former Gov. Ralph Northam, more than 40 Democratic state legislators and U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Woodbridge, whose current district includes much of the territory Helmer hopes to represent.
Longtime Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth said Helmer’s move was hardly surprising.
“I mean, is there gambling in Casablanca?” Holsworth said. “The reality is that when redistricting is political, people are going to be rewarded politically.”
Holsworth noted that once Democrats opted for a partisan approach rather than relying on court-appointed judges to draw maps, it was predictable that at least one sitting legislator might benefit.
“The fact that there was a name on the gerrymander is not surprising,” he said, adding that Republicans will attempt to make a “good government case” against the plan while Democrats hope the election once again centers on Trump.
Scott rejected the notion that Helmer’s candidacy undermines the amendment.
“Nobody coronates anybody,” he said. “He is going to go out and do the work. And I think if he does the work, he’ll have an opportunity to serve.”
Whether voters view Helmer’s bid as political savvy or self-dealing may ultimately hinge on the April referendum. The Supreme Court of Virginia is also reviewing a Republican-led lawsuit that could deem the proposal illegal. For now, Helmer is unapologetic.
“I’m never going to back down,” he said.