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Democrats: LuAnn Bennett to announce campaign against Barbara Comstock soon

December 1, 2015 at 6:00 a.m. EST
Barbara Comstock makes a victory speech after winning Virginia's 10th district seat for the US House in Ashburn, Virginia November 4, 2014. (J. Lawler Duggan/For The Washington Post)

Businesswoman LuAnn Bennett will soon launch a campaign against Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), northern Virginia Democrats say.

Democrats have been searching for months for a candidate to take on Comstock, who won her seat last fall. The freshman congresswoman represents a swing district in the exurbs of Washington that for decades was held by Republican Frank Wolf. Both parties believe that a presidential contest provides Democrats with their best chance at victory.

“It is forthcoming,” Patsy Brown, chairwoman of the 10th District Virginia Democrats, said of Bennett’s candidacy. She said she believed an announcement would come by the end of December.

In an e-mail to elected officials in the area sent Nov. 24, Dranesville District Democratic Committee Chairman Gregory Brandon said Bennettt would be announcing her candidacy within the next two weeks.

He added that Adam Zuckerman, the director of Attorney General Mark Herring’s political action committee, would serve as her campaign manager.

Zuckerman said any announcement was premature. “If she pulls the trigger, it’s likely I will play a role, but we’re not there yet,” Zuckerman said.

The well-off owner of a real estate development firm, Bennett was married for six years to former congressman Jim Moran. She serves on the boards of the Virginia Health Care Foundation, the Institute for Sustainable Communities and the National Children's Museum. She owns a home in Fauquier County, outside the contested district.

“She would make a phenomenal congresswoman and I certainly hope she runs,” said Moran. “She would be a terrific fit for the 10th District.”

Bennett did not return a request for comment.

Comstock campaign manager Luisa Guerra noted that Comstock won her first race, against Fairfax County Supervisor John W. Foust, by more than 16 points.

“She works tirelessly with and for her 10th District constituents,” Guerra said.

The race probably will be one of the most expensive in the country because of the high-priced Northern Virginia media market.