Merritt Hale

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Merritt Hale

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 21, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of Virginia, 2016

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

2016 - 2020

Personal

Religion

Methodist

Profession

Systems engineer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Merritt Hale (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on June 21, 2022.

Hale completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Merritt Hale served in the U.S. Navy from 2016 to 2020. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia in 2016. His career experience includes working as a systems engineer.

Elections

2022

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline defeated Jennifer Lewis in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline (R)	64.4	173,352
		Jennifer Lewis (D)	35.4	95,410
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	588

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 269,350
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Danny LeBeau (Independent)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jennifer Lewis (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline defeated Merritt Hale in the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on June 21, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline	82.1	19,620
		Merritt Hale	17.9	4,264

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,884
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

The Democratic convention was canceled. Jennifer Lewis advanced from the Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 6.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Merritt Hale completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hale's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Merritt was born and raised in Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia where he participated in the Naval ROTC program and graduated with a degree in systems engineering. After graduating, Merritt served as a United States Naval Officer for four years. Following his time in the service, Merritt worked for a defense contractor as a systems engineer supporting the intelligence community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Change the status quo: I believe politics should be about servant leadership and helping your constituents. Unfortunately, politics today has become a blood sport of who can deliver the best one liner and better demonize their opponent. While that's great for political insiders, it shuts off about 70 percent of the population and doesn't serve the people. I believe complex policy issues shouldn't be diluted into reductionist arguments which drive people either to the extremes or to abstain from the political process altogether. I pledge that I will study the issues and deliver what I truly believe is the best result for my constituents; not what the political establishment says is best.
• Value all life: I believe life begins at conception and that all lives should be treated with respect from conception to death. I am 100% pro-life, except when the mother’s life is genuinely at risk. I believe all kids should have access to a great education, as education is the key to moving up the socio-economic ladder. I believe that care for the elderly and our medical system all need to be improved greatly. These are complex issues. I encourage you to check out my website, merritthaleforcongress.com, for a greater detail. I believe that the basic principle of having genuine respect for ordinary citizens throughout all stages of life is missing in our current system, and is an issue I'm passionate about helping fix.
• Limited Government: Unchecked government leads to higher taxes, slower and more inefficient bureaucracies, more regulations on businesses, more regulations on guns, and less freedoms for people. I believe government should fulfill the roles it was assigned in the constitution to include keeping a strong military, defending our borders, and keeping our citizens safe. Implementing conservative fiscal policies will help diminish our national debt and limit the current bloat of the government.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am a Christian, common-sense conservative. I am pro-life, pro-business, pro-gun, pro-environment, and pro small government. All of those topics have incredible nuance behind the two-word stance on the topic, and I hope that you'll take the time to look on my website for a greater explanation. I believe that when people actually take the time to talk about these issues, there's a lot more common ground than what the news would have you believe. There are some issues, such as abortion, where there are key axiomatic differences which will never allow for compromise. This doesn't mean that discussions shouldn't be had. We as a country need to re-learn how to engage in debate and not get triggered. Iron sharpens iron, and engaging in genuinely hard discussions to move this country forward is imperative.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I vividly remember being in school when 9/11 happened. I remember half of the students left school early and we didn't even know why (the teachers didn't tell us what was going on). When my mom picked me up, she very calmly explained to me what was happening. What I didn't fully comprehend until I was older, was that my dad was supposed to be at the Pentagon that day. His meeting was moved last minute, and he was safe at Fort Belvoir when the Pentagon was struck. When my mom called him, she couldn't reach him. The phone lines were overwhelmed and no calls could get in. Years later I'd learned that right before picking me up from school, Mom had prayed to God that she wouldn't have to raise my sister and me as a single mother. As a child I was oblivious to what both my parents went through on that day. I was incredibly blessed to have two parents who were rock solid in the face of adversity. As I grew older I appreciated what incredible character it took for a mother to not show to her child any fear that his dad might be dead. I grew to appreciate the sacrifice that my dad, a 20 year Navy veteran and DOD civilian, was willing to make for our country. The tragedy of 9/11 and how both my parents responded to it cultivated a sense of patriotism in me that eventually led me to serve in the Navy. I now hope to continue to serve this country as a member of the United States Congress.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2022 Elections

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Candidate

U.S. House Virginia District 6

Website

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Footnotes

[show]

Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tim Kaine (D)

Mark Warner (D)

Representatives

District 1

Rob Wittman (R)

District 2

Jennifer Kiggans (R)

District 3

Bobby Scott (D)

District 4

Jennifer McClellan (D)

District 5

John McGuire (R)

District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline (R)

District 7

Eugene Vindman (D)

District 8

Donald Sternoff Beyer (D)

District 9

H. Morgan Griffith (R)

District 10

Suhas Subramanyam (D)

District 11

James Walkinshaw (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (5)