Exclusive
A source tells Potomac Local a replacement for Laquan Austion could be Jeffery Dove, who is now running for congress.
Austion today dropped out of Virginia’s Hosue District 2 race in Prince William and Stafford counties. Dove is running against Democrat Gerry Connolly (D-11 Fairfax, Prince William) who has held the job since 2009.
Dove is running against Democrat Gerry Connolly (D-11 Fairfax, Prince William) who has held the job since 2009. He has yet to comment for this story.
Last year, Dove took to Twitter and showed interest in the House District 2 seat, which serves residents in Prince William and Stafford counties.
From Dove’s Twitter page:
Virginia House of Delegates District 2 will be up for grabs next year. That sounds interesting.
— Jeffery A Dove Jr. (@JefferyADoveJr) August 26, 2016
Virginia District 2 had @MarkDudenhefer run unopposed in the Republican Primary. Next year that may not be the case….
— Jeffery A Dove Jr. (@JefferyADoveJr) August 27, 2016
If Dove becomes the candidate, he would face Democrat Jennifer Carroll Foy in the House District 2 race. Foy is a public defender and professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
She issued a statement Friday afternoon after Austion dropped out of the race.
“I would like to thank Laquan Austion for stepping up to run. I will continue to work to earn the votes of all of my neighbors in the Second District. I will fight to expand Medicaid to 400,000 more Virginians, protect funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s health care, end the school-to-prison pipeline, and find solutions to our broken transportation system. I have devoted my entire life to public service — fighting for the voiceless as a public defender and foster mother — and hope to serve all of the Second District as Delegate.”
The HD2 race has been an eventful one this year. Republican Mark Dudenhefer in January made a surprise announcement stating he would not seek reelection for the seat.
In June, Democrat Josh King requested a recount following a close Primary race with fellow Foy, who won the recount by 12 votes.
Updated:
Jeff Dove will stay the course in the 11th Congressional District race.
He sent Potomac Local this statement:
“While I am honored that the many Republicans have put my name into the mix for this seat, I am currently laser focused on making life better for the people of the 11th Congressional District.”
