Running for Office
If you are interested in running for office, there are resources available to help you with taking the right steps.
Offices up for election in 2015: in Fairfax County, every State Senate, House of Delegates, Board of Supervisors and School Board seat is up for election. In addition, the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Sheriff, Clerk of Court and three Soil & Water Conservation District seats are on the ballot. For lists of current candidates and district maps, visit our 2015 Elections page.
How Democratic Candidates are selected: most of our candidates are nominated either through a primary (June 9) or a caucus (dates vary). School Board and Soil & Water seats are nonpartisan elections, but we do hold meetings to endorse our candidates for those positions. Endorsed candidates will enjoy the same support as our nominees.
In any race where only one Democratic candidate files for the nomination or endorsement, that primary, caucus or endorsement meeting is cancelled and the candidate is declared the nominee.
Candidate filing information: Click here for a helpful schedule that includes filing dates and more for state, local and constitutional offices. The deadline to file to run in a primary is March 26th at 5:00pm. For details on where to file, contact us at (703) 573-6811 or email info@fairfaxdemocrats.org. The State Board of Elections provides resources on the requirements for running for office here. It’s recommended that potential candidates carefully read the bulletins for their type of office, state or local.
For some of the offices on this year’s ballot, the nominating committees have selected a caucus instead of a primary. Those offices include House of Delegates District 67, State Senate District 39, Fairfax County Chairman, Fairfax County Sheriff and Clerk of Court, and Springfield District Supervisor. For the three aforementioned countywide offices, we are holding a caucus on May 26th. Click here for more information. The Senate District 39 caucus, or firehouse primary, has been called for April 18th and the filing deadline is March 28th. Click here for more information on the 39th District caucus. Caucus dates for the other two offices will be announced soon.
Endorsements: The Fairfax Democrats’ membership will meet on May 26th to select our endorsed candidates for School Board At-Large and Soil & Water Conservation Board of Directors. Click here for more information on the endorsement meeting.
Endorsements for local District School Board seats begin at their respective Supervisor (magisterial) District Democratic Committee where candidates are recommended for endorsement, and that decision is then ratified at the next Fairfax County Democratic Committee meeting. Most of those district meetings are held in April and can be found on our Calendar. To contact the local District Democratic Committee Chairs, email:
braddock@fairfaxdemocrats.org
huntermill@fairfaxdemocrats.org
dranesville@fairfaxdemocrats.org
lee@fairfaxdemocrats.org
mason@fairfaxdemocrats.org
mtvernon@fairfaxdemocrats.org
providence@fairfaxdemocrats.org
springfield@fairfaxdemocrats.org
sully@fairfaxdemocrats.org
We are available to hold a consultation meeting or phone call with potential candidates to answer their questions about running for office. Contact:
Frank Anderson, Executive Director
Office (703) 573-6811
Fax (703) 560-7004
frank@fairfaxdemocrats.org
