At least two well-known Alexandria Democrats are interested in running for Elizabeth Bennett-Parker’s 5th District seat in the House of Delegates, following her firehouse primary win last night.
City Councilman R. Kirk McPike and former Alexandria City School Board Member Eileen Cassidy Rivera have confirmed to ALXnow they intend to run to fill Bennett-Parker’s 5th District seat, which she has held since 2021. They have also each published campaign websites.
Bennett-Parker now faces Republican Julie Robben Lineberry in a special election Feb. 10 to fulfill outgoing Sen. Adam Ebbin’s 39th Senate District seat. Alexandria Democratic Committee Chair Jon DeNunzio led last night’s primary six days after Ebbin announced his resignation to join Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s administration.
DeNunzio has not received word from Bennett-Parker on whether she will announce resignation from her 5th District seat before or after her special election on Feb. 10, but said that doing so would kickstart another unassembled caucus.
“From where I sit, when a writ of election for HD5 (House District 5) comes down — which is of course not guaranteed, but overwhelmingly likely — we run another unassembled caucus,” DeNunzio said.
Bennett-Parker faced no opposition for her House seat, which represents parts of the City of Alexandria, when she was reelected in 2023.
McPike confirmed that he is running for the seat and will formally announce sometime today (Wednesday), he told ALXnow via text.
McPike has launched a campaign website and listed his top priorities as affordable housing, standing up to the Trump administration, fighting climate change and defending federal workers.
“Since being elected to serve on Alexandria’s City Council in 2021, Kirk has demonstrated he knows how to put in the hard work, delivering real results that better the lives of Alexandria’s residents and families,” McPike’s website says. “Now, Kirk is ready to bring his experience to Richmond to keep improving the lives of all Virginians as our Delegate for House District 5.”
McPike was first elected to City Council in 2021 and reelected in 2024. If he wins a special election for the delegate seat, he will have to resign from his longtime day job as chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), according to state law.
So far, his campaign has received an endorsement from Rep. Don Beyer, who wrote that “Kirk has a proven track record of delivering results for Alexandrians.”
Beyer has also endorsed McPike’s opponent, Rivera, as shared by the candidate via Facebook on Wednesday.
Rivera launched a campaign website the same day and confirmed her intention to run with ALXnow. A member of the School Board from 2006-2009, she’s a public relations expert who has spent decades managing strategic communications and media relations.
From 2021 to last December, she was the vice president of communications and public relations for Tysons-based federal contractor Maximus.
Her career includes stints managing public relations for the Peace Corps, Hewlett Packard, Ciox Health and L3Harris Technologies. During the 1990s, she was also an assistant administrator and director of international trade for the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to her LinkedIn page.
In 1997, she was chosen by former President Bill Clinton “to lead [a] delegation of 50 women government officials and business leaders” to a Women’s Business Summit with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris.
“I think about the country my children will inherit—the country all our children will inherit—if we don’t turn this around,” Rivera wrote on her campaign website. “And I can’t just stand by.”
According to her website, Rivera’s priorities include achieving affordability for housing and health care, funding K-12 education, defending reproductive freedom, supporting federal workers and protecting immigrants from federal enforcement actions, among other goals.
“Alexandria needs strong representation in Richmond now more than ever,” Rivera wrote. “An opportunity to serve and do more is right in front of me. As your next Delegate, I’ll build on Elizabeth Bennett-Parker’s legacy, moving our district forward with compassion, courage, and results. I’ll fight for our shared values and stand up to the Trump Administration’s attacks on our rights and freedoms.”
Photo three via Jack Powers/Facebook.
