Stephen Leon

Stephen Leon

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House Maryland District 8

Elections and appointments

Next election

June 23, 2026

Personal

Birthplace

Arlington, Va.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Intellectual property specialist

Contact

Campaign website

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Stephen Leon (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 23, 2026.^[source]

Leon completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Stephen Leon was born in Arlington, Virginia. His career experience includes working as a president and CEO.

Elections

2026

See also: Maryland's 8th Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on June 23, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 8

Incumbent Jamie Raskin and Stephen Leon are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 8 on June 23, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jamie Raskin
		Stephen Leon

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 8

Cheryl Riley is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 8 on June 23, 2026.

		Candidate
		Cheryl Riley

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Virginia's 8th Congressional District election, 2024

Virginia's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Democratic primary)

Virginia's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 8

Incumbent Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. defeated Jerry Torres, David Kennedy, and Bentley Hensel in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (D)	71.5	274,593
		Jerry Torres (R)	24.7	94,676
		David Kennedy (Independent)	2.6	9,956
		Bentley Hensel (Independent)	1.0	3,656
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,034

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 383,915
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeramy Olmack (No Party Affiliation)
• Stephen Leon (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 8.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Andrew Campbell (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Jerry Torres advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 8.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mike Webb (R)
• Bill Moher (R)
• Adam Sahebian (R)
• Heerak Christian Kim (R)
• Gavin Proffitt (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Leon in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Stephen Leon completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Leon's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

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?

• Socioeconomic Improvement
• Natural Resources & Wildlife Protection
• Fair Use of Technology

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Climate Change

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Considering for how long Politics have been failing the People, I believe these are overrated at the time of taking this survey.

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.

2024

Stephen Leon completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Leon's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an Inventorpreneur that was born and raised in Northern Virginia. I enjoy problem solving and helping others.

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?

• Socioeconomic Improvement
• Natural Resources & Wildlife Protection
• Fair Use of Technology

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Climate Change

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Barack Obama. Change.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

John Adams HBO Miniseries

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Constitutional Honesty

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Relentless work ethic to accomplish any task.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Transparent Communication

What legacy would you like to leave?

Change.

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

Making it to a county (Arlington) Basketball Championship game. We lost by one point. I was 11.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Delivering flyers for an Uncle for his Home Improvement business. It was a Summer job as a Tween.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Non-Fiction: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates, survival. Fiction: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, same reason.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Wow, I dunno, Iron Man or Batman?

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Holocene by Bon Iver.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Taking caution not to work on Auto-pilot. Everyday is new and different, no matter how minuscule or mundane. That's just Human.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It is a spirt that comprises a particular community's interests by one.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes and No.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Balancing a Bipartisan paradigm of General Welfare and Fiscal Responsibility.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support Term Limits.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Mostly the appreciation of Cultural Diversity.

Tell us your favorite joke.

"A naked blonde walks into a bar, carrying a poodle under one arm and a 6 foot salami under the other. The Bartender says, 'So, I don't suppose you'd be needing a drink?' The blonde says......" ~ John Bender from the Breakfast Club

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yes.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Incentives for the Private Sector has always been tradition. However, Excess Taxation is not a founding principle nor is Corporate Tyranny.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

The principle of any investigation would be to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States among Due Process with the States.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Not that I have been seeking such at the time of this survey, presently none.

What committees interest you?

Energy and Commerce Committee

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Previously noted.

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.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Stephen Leon campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Maryland District 8	Candidacy Declared primary	$1,926	$1,926
2024*	President of the United States	Lost convention	$0	N/A**
2024*	U.S. House Virginia District 8	Withdrew general	$8,832	$6,533
Grand total			$10,758	$8,459
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. House Maryland District 8

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Footnotes

[show]

Maryland's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Angela Alsobrooks (D)

Chris Hollen (D)

Representatives

District 1

Andrew Harris (R)

District 2

John Olszewski (D)

District 3

Sarah Elfreth (D)

District 4

Glenn Ivey (D)

District 5

Steny Hoyer (D)

District 6

April McClain-Delaney (D)

District 7

Kweisi Mfume (D)

District 8

Jamie Raskin (D)

Democratic Party (9)

Republican Party (1)