Mo Seifeldein Running In Democratic VA 8 Primary: Candidate Questionnaire

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Ahead of the primary elections in August, Patch has invited candidates running to represent Virginia's 8th Congressional District to complete a questionnaire touching on a variety of key issues.

Candidate responses will be published verbatim in the run-up to the primaries on August 4.

Questionnaire responses for Mo Seifeldein, who is running to serve the 8th District, can be found below:

Name: Mo Seifeldein

Age as of the election: 42

Campaign website: www.moforcongress.com

Have you been endorsed by a recognized political party? If so, which one?

I am running as a Democrat in the Democratic primary for Virginia's 8th Congressional District. The party does not endorse in primaries. My campaign has earned the endorsement of Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption (Track AIPAC) and New American Leaders Action Fund.

Please give us any details about your family that you'd like to share.

I grew up in a working-class immigrant family. My mother, siblings, and I all worked at McDonald's to pay the bills. At one point, eight of us had hourly jobs just to cover rent and food. Even after ten years, my mother never earned more than $13 an hour. We went without health insurance and often worried about losing our home. Those years shaped who I am. I understand what it’s like to struggle with groceries, gas, housing, and medical care because my family went through it.

We fled a dictatorship in Sudan that dismantled the government, weakened schools, banned opposition, and enforced martial law through a personal police force. I saw what happens when democracy collapses. That lived experience drives my commitment to justice and my decisions to become a lawyer and to resign from the federal government to run for Congress. I already fled one home. I am not going to flee this one or let it fail.

That’s also why my platform focuses on working families, and why I will not compromise it to serve the super wealthy.

What's your occupation?

I am a lawyer and have practiced law for over a decade across public service and the legal field. I served first as a court-appointed-attorney, helping those who could not afford a lawyer, and later a federal attorney. As a federal attorney in the U.S. At the Department of Labor, I worked to protect American workers' rights and enforce labor law for over 5 years, before resigning in protest of the Trump administration's attacks on civil servants and democracy. This same commitment to public service brought me to run for office in 2018, where I served in the Alexandria City Council.

Have you ever held political office?

Yes. I served as a member of the Alexandria City Council from 2019 to 2021, becoming the first Muslim and Sudanese-American elected to that body. I came to the City Council as an outsider. My campaign built a coalition that looked like our city– by knocking on every door, listening to everyday people, and turning out voters who felt marginalized by local politics.

On Council I created the Commonwealth's first independent police review board with investigative and subpoena authority, amended the city's human rights code to explicitly protect trans residents, helped the city's bus drivers (ATU) win their first collective bargaining agreement after decades of failed attempts, created the the first Police and mental health co response team (ACORP), fought for affordable housing, and appropriated $700,000 toward mental-health professionals in schools and a mentorship program.

How will this political, professional or other experience help you perform in office if elected?

While serving on the Alexandria City Council, I worked hard to bring independent police oversight, more affordable housing, and the first union contract for transit workers. These experiences taught me how to stand by my principles and turn them into real policies, even when it was tough. I plan to do the same in Congress.

When I worked as a federal attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor, I learned how the government operates. I saw firsthand how the Trump administration went after civil servants, immigrants, and the middle class. I reached a point where I couldn’t stay silent, so I resigned. That decision wasn’t for publicity—it was a real sacrifice. It proves I put my values before my paycheck.

Growing up as a working-class immigrant from a dictatorship shaped how I see the world. My family and I worked the fryer at McDonald's just to pay rent. I’ve gone without health insurance, struggled with housing, and still have student loans. When I make laws, I don’t have to guess what working families need. I know, because I am one of them. I answer to the people who raised me, not to big donors.

If elected to Congress, I won’t just go along with the crowd. I’ll work to ban congressional stock trading, turn down corporate PAC money, and vote against FISA’s warrantless surveillance. I’ll push for Medicare for All, free universal childcare, and a public mortgage option. I’ll also cut military aid to any government that violates human rights, so we can use those funds for healthcare, housing, and childcare here in VA-08.

You’re not choosing another career politician. You’re choosing someone who has put in the work, taken real risks, and lived through the struggles. That’s how I’ll serve in Congress. That’s what sets me apart

Why are you running for this office?

I'm running because families in VA-08 are struggling with the high costs of healthcare, housing, and childcare, while big corporations gain more power and politicians take corporate money. At the same time, the Trump administration is attacking our democracy and our neighbors. I saw this kind of thing before, growing up under a dictatorship in Sudan. I left my job at the Department of Labor because I refused to stay quiet while democracy, the middle class, civil servants, and immigrants were under attack. I have already left one home behind. I will not leave this one or let it fall apart. We need leaders from the working class who know what real life is like and will stand up to billionaires who avoid taxes and reject corporate PAC money. I will fight for Medicare for All, free universal childcare, and housing as a basic right. I am not running to keep a system that only helps a few. I am running to open it up for working people. I will not trade stocks. I will work to ban stock trading in Congress. I will fight to get money out of politics and reform the Supreme Court.

What do you believe are the most important issues facing voters in the district you seek to represent? How do you intend to address those issues?

The three biggest issues we face are affordability, threats to our democracy, and stopping U.S. involvement in human rights abuses abroad.

Affordability is making life harder for working families in VA‑08. You see it when you pay rent, buy groceries, or have to skip a doctor's visit. I will fight for Medicare for All so you never have to pay a premium or deductible again. I will push for free universal childcare from birth to kindergarten, following New Mexico's example. I will also work to make housing affordable. This means creating a public mortgage option to help you buy a home without dealing with predatory lenders, building new public housing, establishing a national fund to prevent affordable units from becoming luxury condos, and banning algorithm-based rent hikes. I will make sure every federal housing dollar comes with tenant protections such as just-cause eviction and rent stabilization.

Our democracy is under threat. The Trump administration has targeted civil servants, immigrants, and our institutions, while too many Democrats have done little or nothing. I resigned from the Department of Labor because I refused to stay silent. I will stand up for whistleblowers, work to replace ICE with a humane system, ban members of Congress from trading stocks, refuse all corporate PAC money, and vote against warrantless surveillance under FISA. I will hold my own party accountable when they put donors ahead of working families. I have already escaped one dictatorship. I will not leave this country or let it fail.

Our foreign policy should not support human rights abuses. We send billions to Israel while it commits genocide and apartheid, as the International Court of Justice has found. We have sold weapons to the UAE, which then armed the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, now accused of genocide. I support an immediate arms embargo on Israel, restoring UNRWA funding to help feed starving children, and ending weapons sales to any government that violates human rights. Every dollar we save from ending endless wars and military aid should go toward healthcare, housing, and childcare here in VA‑08.

You deserve a representative who understands your struggles, has taken real risks, and will never answer to corporate PACs or the military industrial complex. That is why I am running. That is what I promise to do.

How do you differ from the other candidates in the field? What makes you uniquely qualified for this office?

I refuse corporate PAC money and will not trade individual stocks while in office. I support a living wage that rises with inflation, Medicare for All, and free universal childcare. I will vote against FISA warrantless surveillance because spying on Americans is unconstitutional. I have also publicly called Israel's actions in Gaza what they are: genocide.

No other candidate in this race has taken these positions while also turning down all corporate money.

I served on the Alexandria City Council, where I helped working families, provided independent oversight of the police, and secured the first union contract for bus drivers. I worked as a federal attorney at the Department of Labor to protect American workers. I also worked the fryer at McDonald's with my mother and siblings just to pay rent. I resigned from my federal job instead of staying silent while Trump attacked democracy, civil servants, and New Americans. My experience, principles, and personal struggles are what make me uniquely qualified.

I am accountable only to working people, not the donor class. That is the difference. That is my qualification.

What is the most consistent feedback your campaign gets from voters about what they want from their representative?

Voters consistently tell us they want a representative who fights for affordability, lower costs for healthcare, housing, childcare, and groceries, and who answers to people rather than corporate donors. They want action over statements of concern and a corporate approach to issues. They want someone willing to break with party leadership when necessary, and willing to take clear moral positions when human rights and working families are on the line.

What is your opinion of the work being done by the current office holder, and how will you improve on it?

I respect Congressman Beyer's years of public service and his work on climate change and artificial intelligence. This moment calls for a different approach to leadership. VA‑08 should be a leading voice for bold Democratic values.

More than 80 percent of Americans are concerned about the influence of money in politics. Congressman Beyer accepts corporate PAC contributions. Additionally, he traded stocks. Rep. Beyer’s stock trading volume exceeded $77 million before he switched to government bonds. Those activities are legal, but I believe Congress should be held to a higher standard. I do not accept corporate PAC money, I do not trade individual stocks, and I support a complete ban on congressional stock trading, which is also supported by the majority of Americans.

Congressman Beyer has supported legislation that reauthorized FISA surveillance authorities, voted to send military aid to Israel, and supported measures that reduced funding for UNRWA, the agency that provides food to Palestinians. I support repealing FISA Section 702, restoring UNRWA funding, and reducing the defense budget to a reasonable amount.

Beyer's living wage bill is a good start, but it lags behind Virginia's current minimum wage. I support a living wage that keeps up with inflation, starting at $15.

On the world’s two largest humanitarian issues, Gaza and Sudan, elected officials should speak clearly and forcefully about large‑scale human rights abuses that implicate our government without hesitation. The UAE, our ally, is supporting genocide in Sudan. Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Congressman Beyer and I have taken different approaches to these issues.

Congressman Beyer has advocated for reforming ICE, while I support abolishing it and moving to a more humane immigration enforcement system that better reflects our values.

Beyer has not yet signed on to the articles of impeachment against Trump. Beyer voted to impeach Donald Trump during his first term. I will sign them. Congress must send a strong signal that we will not remain silent in the face of a corrupt president.

I resigned in protest of Trump, choosing principle over comfort. When elected, I will bring that same willingness to challenge the status quo to Congress.