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2026 midterms · Candidate

Democrat · Candidate · U.S. House, Virginia’s 8th District · Incumbent

Portrait of Donald Beyer Jr., rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
8.8%
of statements contain a personal attack

In the top tenth of Democratic House incumbents (their average is 3.2%; Beyer ranks 12th of 212, where 1st is the highest rate), from 40,843 statements.

An AI model reads everything Beyer publishes in office (posts, press releases, newsletters, floor speeches) and marks whether each attacks a person’s character, integrity or loyalty; the rate is the share marked.

Donald Beyer Jr. D · VAVirginia 8th District · FEC H4VA08224 · Bioguide B001292Official profile →

What Beyer says

8.8% of Beyer’s statements contain a personal attack, in the top tenth of Democratic House incumbents. Their average is 3.2%.

An AI model reads everything Beyer publishes in office and marks five kinds of statement; the rate is the share of statements with each label. The thin grey bar is the average of the 212 Democratic House incumbents with 50 or more statements, and the rank places Beyer among them (1st is the highest rate). A rate describes what was said, not whether it was right.

How often does Beyer make each kind of statement?

Share of statements: Beyer (thick bar) against the Democratic House incumbents average (thin grey bar)

0%80%
Beyer
Average
Rank
Personal attacks
8.8%
3.2%
12th of 212
Policy criticism
22%
17%
38th of 212
Policy discussion
71%
66%
50th of 212
Bipartisanship
4.6%
6.6%
147th of 212
Credit claiming
11%
19%
186th of 212
Show the data
Beyer’s share of statements of each kind, against the Democratic House incumbents average: Personal attacks 8.8%, Policy criticism 22%, Policy discussion 71%, Bipartisanship 4.6%, Credit claiming 11%.
RowBeyerAverage
Personal attacks8.8%3.2%
Policy criticism22%17%
Policy discussion71%66%
Bipartisanship4.6%6.6%
Credit claiming11%19%
40,843

statements classified

From everything they publish in office: posts, press releases, newsletters and floor speeches.

This compares Beyer with other candidates. Beyer’s official profile compares Beyer with fellow office-holders and has every statement, vote and bill.

The five kinds of statement

Personal attacks. Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.

Policy criticism. Objects to a specific policy, law or court ruling with fact-based arguments, without personal attacks or emotional appeals.

Policy discussion. Discusses a specific public policy or policy area (health care, taxes, defense, …).

Bipartisanship. Emphasises working across the aisle, compromise or common ground between the parties.

Credit claiming. Claims credit for passing legislation, securing funding or grants, or other accomplishments in office.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Beyer reports $2.5M raised and $848.7K cash on hand. By money raised, 1st of the two candidates on this race’s list with FEC figures.

Totals the campaign reports to the Federal Election Commission for the 2026 cycle, as filed.

Raised

$2.5M

Spent

$2.2M

Cash on hand

$848.7K

Where has Beyer’s money come from?

Receipts by source, as reported to the FEC

Individuals: $1.7M (68.6%)Individuals $1.7MPACs: $791.8K (31.4%)PACs $791.8K
Show the data
Beyer’s receipts by source: Individuals $1.7M, PACs $791.8K, Party committees $0, Own money $0, Candidate loans $0.
PartValue
Individuals$1.7M
PACs$791.8K
Party committees$0
Own money$0
Candidate loans$0
Notes
Sources are the FEC’s categories; what is left (transfers, refunds, other receipts) is not drawn. The race page compares every candidate in the race.

Back to topNext: Online

Online

Beyer’s posts on X from Oct 22, 2025 to Sep 7, 2026. Followers and the average likes and views per post, from the posts the lab has collected.

Engagement is what X reports for each collected post, averaged; it measures reach, not support.

Followers

Not on file

Likes per post

49

Views per post

7.3K

Back to topNext: The race

The race

Virginia 8th District: Beyer advanced from the primary. Primary Jun 9, 2026. General election Nov 3, 2026.

This race is not among the races the lab lists as rated toss-up or leaning.

Who else is on the list?

Candidates recorded as advancing from the primary

The race page compares every candidate’s statements and money · every race in Virginia

Back to topNext: Methods and sources

Methods and sources

The headline. Each candidate’s headline is chosen by one rule for everyone. The peer group is the ranked candidates (50 or more statements) of the same party, for the same office and measured on the same record, widened to both parties when it has fewer than 10. Each kind of statement is scored by how far the candidate sits from the middle of the group (|percentile − 0.5|, ties counting half); the farthest leads if it is outside the middle half (above 0.25), scores within 0.03 tie and fall to a fixed order, and a high rate backed by fewer than 10 labelled statements cannot lead. Otherwise the headline is a plain count.

The statements. As an incumbent member of Congress, this candidate is measured on everything the lab collects from them in office: posts on X, press releases, newsletters and floor speeches. An AI model marks each statement for five kinds of statement; rates are shown from 10 statements and ranked from 50.

The race. Candidates come from FEC filings (House and Senate), the lab’s list of sitting members of Congress, and the lab’s list of candidates for governor. The lab records each primary’s result once it is official. House districts follow FEC filings; a sitting member is placed in the race for the seat they hold now.

Identifiers. FEC candidate id H4VA08224 (FEC record). Bioguide id B001292. First FEC filing Jan 30, 2014.

Money and reach. Campaign money is as reported to the FEC. Followers, likes and views are what X reports for the posts the lab collected, the latest from Sep 7, 2026.

About the data →

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