VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – A Democrat has announced he is running for Congress in Virginia’s second district. The seat is currently held by Rep. Scott Taylor.
Dave Belote is the chairman of the Virginia Beach Democrats.
“I’m running for Congress so that the people of Hampton Roads have a representative in Congress who will fight for their needs. For far too long, Richmond and Washington politicians have said one thing and done another,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday morning.
Belote was born in Norfolk and grew up in Virginia Beach, according to his campaign website. He served in the Air Force before working in the Pentagon. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he was a frequent critic of Donald Trump.
Belote unsuccessfully ran for state senate in 2015, losing out to Republican Bill DeSteph.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted Rep. Taylor during his first six months in office, including sending out robocalls to constituents criticizing some of his votes.
In response to Belote’s announcement, Scott Weldon, Taylor’s political director, sent News 3 the following statement:
“David Belote is a DC lobbyist who is now running for Congress. We have only seen him lobbying for federal dollars in DC and protesting with the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. His views are far outside the mainstream on health care and many other issues facing our district, state, and nation. Congressman Taylor is successfully working to reform and improve the Veterans Health Administration, reform our oppressive federal tax code, keep our Chesapeake Bay clean, modernize facilities at local military installations and represent everyone in the Second Congressional District. We are happy to have a campaign based on Rep. Taylor’s many accomplishments versus the winner of the Democratic race to the left.”
