A race to watch: In D.C. suburbs, a House Republican tries to tiptoe away from Trump
When Democrats settle in on Nov. 6 to see if they can win back control of the House, one of the first contests they’ll be watching will be just outside Washington, D.C., in the northern Virginia suburbs.
Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock’s seat in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District will be a crucial indicator. The result will be reported earlier than results from states farther west, and so both parties will use it as a weathervane. Democrats need to win 24 seats that are currently held by Republicans.
The former congressional staffer — who was an integral part of Republican-led investigations into President Bill Clinton in the ’90s — has also focused on public safety, sponsoring legislation to combat the MS-13 gang problem.
On another nationalized issue — women’s rights and the fight against sexual harassment and assault — Comstock has moved aggressively to implement reforms in Congress that have even angered some Republican lawmakers, according to one ally of hers.
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“She has gained enemies in her own caucus, particularly Republican men who are worried about being outed for being louts, men who abused staff, pressured women, made unwanted advances,” said Mark Corallo, who worked with Comstock at the Justice Department under President George W. Bush. “She thinks we need to clean house.”
And she has always kept her distance from Trump. When the “Access Hollywood” tape went public in the fall of 2016, Comstock said Trump’s comments were “disgusting, vile, and disqualifying,” and called on him to drop out.
In early February, she delivered a very public rebuke to the president in front of the TV cameras. When Trump said he would “love to see a [government] shutdown,” Comstock disagreed. “We don’t need a government shutdown on this. I think both sides have learned that a government shutdown was bad,” she said.
Democratic pollster Geoff Garin used Comstock as a contrast last year when talking about Gillespie’s campaign. “Comstock took pains to separate from Trump,” Garin said.