Democratic Candidate For House District 35 To Be Chosen Through Caucus

VIENNA, VA — With the special election to fill Del. Mark Keam's House of Delegates District 35 seat set for Jan. 10, the Democratic Party will nominate its candidate through a caucus.

The House District 35 Democratic Nominating Committee chaired by Michelle Woody announced a caucus will be held Saturday, Oct. 8 to choose the Democratic nominee. The caucus will be held at three locations on Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Voters who live in the 35th House District will be eligible to vote in the Democratic caucus. Residents may enter their address here to confirm they live in the 35th House District.

Caucus locations on Oct. 8 will include the Kilmer Center Cafeteria, 8102 Wolftrap Rd., Vienna, VA 22182; Oakton Elementary School Cafeteria, 3000 Chain Bridge Rd., Oakton, VA 22124; and Patrick Henry Library Meeting Room, 101 Maple Ave E., Vienna, VA 22180. Early voting will be available at the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, 8500 Executive Park Ave, Suite 402, Fairfax, VA 22031, on Tuesday, Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 6 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Candidates have not yet been verified, although Providence District School Board representative Karl Frisch and former teacher and nonprofit founder Holly Seibold have announced campaigns. Candidates will appear after the Sept. 30 filing deadline at fairfaxvotes.org/HD35.

Keam, the first Asian-born immigrant and first Korean American elected to state office in Virginia, resigned to become an assistant deputy secretary for the National Travel and Tourism Office, the Associated Press reported. First elected in 2009, Keam (D-Fairfax) has represented the Town of Vienna, Dunn Loring, and parts of Tysons, Oakton and Fair Lakes.

The district is strongly blue, and Democrats have held the 35th House District seat since 2003. The special election will fill the seat until all Virginia General Assembly seats are up for election in November 2023.

Redrawn legislative maps will take effect with the 2023 election. While the 35th House District will move to the Shenandoah Valley region, there will be several districts from areas of the current 35th House District. The 11th House District will include parts of Oakton, Fair Lakes and Fairfax City, while the 12th House District will cover the Town of Vienna, Tysons and parts of Dunn Loring/Merrifield and Mantua.