Republicans in several parts of Virginia will be choosing their congressional candidates this weekend.
This Saturday, Republicans in three congressional districts will be holding conventions to choose their candidates for this year's election.
In the 5th Congressional District, incumbent Republican Congressman Bob Good faces challenger Dan Moy – the Republican chairman in Charlottesville. Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says the convention format favors the incumbent.
"The challenger in the Republican field is going to have to create a much, much more powerful organization to compete with an existing member of Congress," Farnsworth says.
In the 10th Congressional District in Northern Virginia, 11 Republicans are competing for the nomination to take on incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton. David Ramadan at George Mason University's Schar School says the convention format will influence the outcome.
"The convention in this scenario does help the leading fundraising candidate, Supervisor Jeanine Lawson from Prince William County, who has a known name and tends to be a strong conservative," Ramadan says.
Republicans in the 8th Congressional District in Northern Virginia will also hold a convention this weekend to select a challenger to take on incumbent Democrat Don Beyer. Five Republicans are competing in that district, which gave President Biden the largest margin of victory of any congressional district in Virginia.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
