Karina Lipsman, whose family emigrated from Ukraine when she was a child, has been selected as the Republican nominee in the decidedly uphill battle to unseat U.S. Rep. Donald Beyer (D-8th).
Lipsman ran away with the race, winning 61.5 percent of the weighted vote in a five-candidate GOP field. Because she garnered a majority on the first ballot, the party did not implement its ranked-choice-voting provisions.
Lipsman has been employed in the defense and intelligence communities for more than a decade.
Beyer has served in Congress since being elected in 2014 to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Moran. He faces a June 21 primary challenge from first-time candidate Victoria Virasingh, but most expect the result of the primary (as well as the general election) to be a mere formality on the way to another two-year term.
The 8th District was nipped and tucked during recent congressional redistricting, but remains a Democratic bastion. It includes all of Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church and a portion of Fairfax County.