Leibig enters House District 5 race, expanding primary field to three
Criminal defense attorney joins McPike, Rivera ahead of Sunday filing deadline
Criminal defense attorney Chris Leibig has entered the race for House District 5, expanding the Democratic firehouse primary field to three candidates three days before Tuesday’s vote.
Leibig, who has practiced law in Alexandria for nearly three decades, joins City Councilman Kirk McPike and former School Board member Eileen Cassidy Rivera in the contest for Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker’s seat.
The candidate filing deadline is Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at the Alexandria Democratic Committee office. Additional candidates could still enter the race.
The candidates
Chris Leibig served at the Alexandria Public Defender’s Office from 1996 to 2002 before launching a private practice in Old Town. A graduate of Falls Church High School, Georgetown University and William & Mary Law School, he is president-elect of the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and has spent 20 years on NORML’s legal committee advocating for marijuana reform. His platform emphasizes criminal justice reform, labor rights — including repealing Virginia’s “right to work” law — mental health system reform and equal educational opportunities. He lives in Del Ray with his wife, a current Alexandria public defender. They have three children and two grandchildren.
Leibig’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The Alexandria Brief has invited Leibig to a live conversation ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
Kirk McPike has served on Alexandria City Council since 2021 and spent 13 years as chief of staff to Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.). He launched his campaign with endorsements from Rep. Don Beyer, Dels. Paul Krizek and Laura Jane Cohen, City Councilman Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi, former council members Del Pepper and Tim Lovain, Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter, Clerk of the Circuit Court Greg Parks and School Board members Kelly Carmichael Booz and Ryan Reyna. McPike has deep ties to the seat’s lineage — he came to Alexandria in 2010 to run Adam Ebbin’s first Senate campaign. If McPike wins the seat, his departure from Council would trigger another special election.
The Alexandria Brief will host a live virtual conversation with McPike on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
Eileen Cassidy Rivera served on the Alexandria City School Board and worked in the Clinton administration at the Commerce Department and Small Business Administration. She has cited affordable housing, school funding, climate protection and support for the federal workforce as priorities. Rivera announced her candidacy hours after Bennett-Parker’s commanding win in the Senate primary last week.
The Alexandria Brief has invited all candidates to live one-on-one conversations ahead of Tuesday’s primary. McPike joins us Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Dates and times for other candidates will be announced as they are confirmed.
The primary
Voting takes place Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at two locations:
Charles E. Beatley Jr. Library, 5005 Duke St.
Charles Houston Recreation Center, 901 Wythe St.
Only residents registered to vote in House District 5 may participate. Check your district at whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov.
The Alexandria Republican City Committee will hold a canvass Sunday from 2-4 p.m. to select its nominee, ARCC Chairman Chris Howell said Saturday. The deadline for Republicans to file is 6 p.m. Saturday.
“We will know tomorrow evening who the Republican candidate will be,” Howell said.