Inaugurated on January 6, 2015, to his first term in the US House of Representatives, Don Beyer serves Virginia’s 8th congressional district in Northern Virginia. He won his 2020 congressional race by 76 percent.
Before being elected to Congress, Don spent 40 years building a highly successful group of retail automobile dealerships, including nine franchises and five manufacturers.
Don began his career in public service in 1989, when he was elected to serve as Virginia’s 36th Lieutenant Governor alongside Governor Douglas Wilder. As a person with physical and sensory disabilities, Don chaired the Commonwealth's Disabilities Commission for eight years, a role that has become a central responsibility of subsequent lieutenant governors. While leading Virginia’s Poverty and Welfare Reform Commission, Don was credited with passing the state’s landmark welfare reform legislation, which has served as a model for federal reforms. And as Chair of the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission, he helped pass permanent pro-business reforms and was co-founder of the Northern Virginia Technology Council.
An active leader in Democratic politics, Don served as: the Virginia Chair of both the Clinton-Gore and Kerry-Edwards campaigns, the Treasurer and Virginia Chair for Howard Dean, Finance Chairman with Mark Warner’s Forward Together campaign, and Mid-Atlantic Finance Chair for President Obama.
In 2009, President Obama nominated Don to serve in his administration as Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. At the U.S. Embassy, Don worked to impose tough international sanctions to bring Iran to the bargaining table and led efforts to crack down on Swiss bank secrecy.
Don has four children, Clara, Grace, Don, and Stephanie, and two grandchildren, Ava and Will. He and his wife Megan live in Alexandria, Virginia.
To learn more about Don's legislative priorities and accomplishments, click here.
To make a contribution to Don's campaign, click here.
