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Alexandria Republicans announced late Monday that they have canceled a planned party canvass and selected longtime community volunteer Julie Robben Lineberry as their nominee for an upcoming special election in Virginia’s 39th Senate District.
The Alexandria Republican City Committee sent an email at 11:11 p.m. Monday canceling a Jan. 13 canvass that had been scheduled at party headquarters in Old Town. Instead, the party named Lineberry as its nominee for the Feb. 10 special election.
The vacancy was created by the resignation of Democratic Sen. Adam Ebbin, who is stepping down effective Feb. 18 to take a position in Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration. The election comes as Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the Virginia Senate, with the legislative session beginning Wednesday.
Who is Julie Lineberry?
Lineberry is a longtime Alexandria real estate agent with McEnearney Associates and has deep roots in Republican politics — she worked in the White House personnel office during the Nixon and Ford administrations and later led the Alexandria Young Republicans and chaired the Alexandria Republican Committee.
She served 10 years on the Alexandria Electoral Board and has been active in community organizations including the Girl Scouts and TWIG, the Inova Alexandria Hospital Auxiliary.
In a statement announcing her candidacy, Lineberry framed her campaign around election integrity concerns.
“I couldn’t sit back and let the high-jinx going on with this election go uncontested,” Lineberry said. “It is time to draw the line. From gerrymandering to election manipulation, the political machine is undermining democracy for our citizens.”
The race ahead
The Republican announcement came amid an accelerated Democratic nominating process. Three Democratic candidates — Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, former Del. Mark Levine and activist Charles Costen-Sumpter — debated Monday night before a standing-room-only crowd at Charles Houston Recreation Center, one day ahead of Tuesday’s firehouse primary. Former Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson did not attend the debate.
Democrats are selecting their nominee on Tuesday at four voting locations across Alexandria, Arlington and Annandale. The Democratic nominee will face Lineberry in the Feb. 10 special election.
District 39 includes all of Alexandria and portions of Arlington and Fairfax County. It has 151,411 registered voters.
Ryan Belmore
