Adam Dunigan Launches Congressional Campaign in Virginia’s 8th District, with his “8 for the 8th” Agenda.             
January 20, 2026

Democratic congressional candidate Adam Dunigan officially launched his campaign for Virginia’s 8th District last week, drawing a strong turnout of veterans, federal workers, and other community members for what he called his “insurgent campaign” against billionaires and the permanent political class.  
 

Dunigan, a former Marine and CIA officer, was clear about his motivation for entering the race, telling supporters, “Our democracy is at risk. We are witnessing the crescendo of an authoritarian project led by Trump,” also referring to the president’s enablers as “bootlickers.” 
 

At the core of Dunigan’s campaign are three guiding principles: building affordability, restoring accountability, and defending democracy. “We’re at the mercy of unelected billionaires who have nothing but disdain for working families struggling to survive an affordability crisis they created,” he said, pointing to the inaction of Democratic politicians who either cannot—or will not—confront the gravity of this moment. 

 

To address these challenges, Dunigan introduced his 8 for 8 campaign platform, a bold agenda focusing on eight priorities for Virginia’s 8th District. 
 

His platform centers on restoring accountability by ending the influence of corporate money in politics, lowering the cost of living for working families, increasing access to healthcare through Medicare for All, protecting public education and academic freedom, supporting immigrant communities with dignity and lawful pathways to citizenship, regulating artificial intelligence in the public interest, investigating DOGE’s role in dismantling the federal workforce, and defending American democracy against Trump’s authoritarian project.
 

“We have to start thinking bigger. We have to start planning, instead of reacting. The path out of this crisis cannot be led by politicians who have been in government since Ronald Reagan.”