Del. Barbara Comstock Announces Candidacy for a Second Term

State Del. Barbara Comstock, a Republican,  made it official Monday night, she's running for a second term in the General Assembly to represent the 34th District which runs from the Arlington County line north to the Loudoun County line and includes McLean, Great Falls and a section of  Vienna around Wolf Trap.

Surrounded by Republican elected officials Cong. Frank Wolf, whose district includes McLean and Great Falls, Fairfax County supervisor Pat Herrity, R-Springfield District, former Dranesville Supervisor Stu Mendelsohn and  a Republican who's who of McLean, Comstock  announced her reelection bid from her $1.2 million home just off Georgetown Pike.

"This is a tough district. Not a Republican or Democratic district but a swing district," said Vince Callahan, who held the 34th District seat from 1968 until his retirement in 2007. "You can't take it for granted."

Cong. Wolf, who hired Comstock as an aide in his office, echoed Callahan. "This could be a tough year. This is not a Republican seat and a difficult year," he told the crowd that packed into Comstock's living room then spilled into the dining room, hallway, and throughout the first floor.

"She is committed, dogged and can get the job done," Wolf said.

Mendelsohn: "She's done an unbelievable job. I don't go anywhere that Barbara is not at. She's everywhere."

Comstock reminded her supporters that she won by only a very slim margin two years ago. She defeated Democrat Margi Vanderhye who was running for a second term. Vanderhye succeeded Callahan, then Comstock took the seat back for the Republicans. She's now one of 61 Republicans in the 100-member House of Delegates.

Comstock was born in Springfield, MA. She and her husband, Chip, moved to McLean so he could take a teaching position at Langley High School,  25 years ago, she said. She was at student at Georgetown Law School, she said.

During their years in McLean, the family has lived on Churchill Road, then in the Potomac Hills subdivision just off Kirby Road and now on Wemberly Way in Langley. "Three different precincts," she laughed. (Her neighbors include two Supreme Court justices.)

Her husband is an assistant principal at Oakton High School. They have three children -- a daughter who attended Langley High School and two sons who attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., she said.

Jim Rizzo, a neighbor, was one of those attending the kickoff party Monday night because , "I think she's done quite a bit for the district. She has raised awareness of Lyme Disease. She's a nice person."

A Democratic opponent? Pamela Danner, president of the McLean Community Foundation, told McLean Patch Sunday that she intends to oppose Comstock. It's unclear when she will announce her candidacy.