Luke Nathan Phillips for Congress

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Northern Virginia Bipartisan Activist Launches Campaign for U.S. House of Representatives, Virginia District 8

ARLINGTON, VA (December 1, 2025) – Local bipartisan activist, writer, and tour guide Luke Nathan Phillips, 32, of Arlington, announced a campaign for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District after filing with the Federal Election Commission. Phillips, running as a Republican, intends to campaign to protect the National Park System as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Says Phillips, “Nobody in my party is doing enough to keep our sacred places from being sold off or closed down, and to keep their stewards from being laid off and losing funding. I want to support my fellow Republicans who are doing that work, and to remind my party of our responsibility to our public lands.”

The son of a U.S. Naval officer and a Filipina immigrant, Phillips grew up between Virginia, California, and Washington State, among other places. He attended the University of Southern California, and is an amateur historian, an avid outdoorsman, a volunteer for Scouting America, and a dedicated supporter of America’s public lands and historic preservation system. He is an outdoor guide, mountaineer, and ultra-marathoner who respects and advocates for the outdoor heritage shared by all Americans, and enjoys the Marine Corps Marathon, the Mount Vernon Patriot Run, and the Philmont Trail Race every year. 

A civic activist by trade, Phillips served on staff at Braver Angels, a national grassroots organization working to bring Americans together across all political, cultural, and ideological divides. “I’ve spent my whole career bringing Republicans and Democrats and everybody else together to think about our common problems, and I intend to do that for the rest of my life,” Phillips says. He served as Braver Angels’ Publius Fellow for Public Discourse from 2021 through 2024, and held various roles in its volunteer corps from 2017 through 2021. 

He has also worked or contracted for major journalists, industrial trade associations, civil society think tanks, presidential foundations, and historic preservation conservancies. Indeed, Phillips is known around D.C. policy and journalism circles in the bipartisan bridgebuilding and conservative intellectual spaces, and has facilitated forums and debates for various institutions. He is a licensed Washington D.C. tour guide, and his walking tours for civic and student organizations around major monuments tie historical heritage to contemporary civic life. He also writes routinely for various journals and magazines on history, politics, and public policy. 

As to a motivation for running, Phillips cites his dedication to the protection of America’s National Parks, National Forests, and other public lands; his faith in the future of Northern Virginia and its public servants, federal workers, military personnel, and policy advocates; and his love of country, in the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. “Many years ago,” Phillips says, “my mom told me there are many ways to be a patriot. I want everyone else to remember that, too.”

Phillips, a young professional who splits his time between Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia, will run in the Republican primary election for Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District in June 2026. He hopes to earn the party’s nomination for the general election in November 2026. Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District includes Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and eastern Fairfax County, including McLean and Mount Vernon. He looks forward to engaging with his neighbors around Northern Virginia in the coming year.