Candidate Profile: Tony Sabio For VA 8th Congressional District

VIRGINIA'S EIGHTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT – Four candidates are competing to represent Virginia's eighth Congressional District.

Patch invited each of the candidates to share their backgrounds, priorities and views on issues facing district residents through a candidate questionnaire.

Tony Sabio is a Navy veteran and security specialist. His answers to Patch's questions are below.

Name

Tony Sabio

Party affiliation

Republican

Party endorsements

Republican

Campaign website

www.sabioforcongress.com

Campaign social media

X: tony_sabio | FB: Tony Sabio for Congress

Why are you running for this office?

I am running because I believe public service should be about serving people, not building a political career.

I have spent much of my life serving this country—in uniform, in federal service, overseas, in business, and in local government. I have seen America at its strongest, and I have seen firsthand what happens when leadership loses sight of the people it is supposed to serve.

Today, too many families are working harder and falling further behind. Small businesses are struggling, young people wonder whether they will ever afford a home, and Americans are increasingly being told to see their neighbors as political enemies.

I refuse to believe that division is our future. I am running to bring common sense back to Washington, create opportunity for the next generation, keep our communities and country secure, and prove that Republicans and Democrats can still work together without surrendering their principles.

I have served America in many different ways throughout my life. I am asking for the opportunity to serve once more—because I still believe America’s greatest days are ahead of us.

What do constituents tell you is most important to them for the coming term?

The three issues I hear most about from constituents are:

1. Affordability and the Cost of Living: Families are concerned about the rising cost of housing, groceries, healthcare, childcare, and everyday necessities. They want practical solutions that allow working families to keep more of what they earn.

2. Jobs and Economic Opportunity: Northern Virginia cannot depend on one employment sector. Constituents want good-paying American jobs, support for small businesses, workforce training, and new career opportunities that provide long-term economic stability.

3. Energy and Responsible Growth: Rising electricity costs and the rapid expansion of data centers are major concerns. Constituents want reliable, affordable energy while ensuring that new development does not overwhelm our electric grid, infrastructure, neighborhoods, or taxpayers.

What are your day-one priorities, if elected?

My Promise for America is my Day-One agenda. It is built around five priorities: affordable energy, American jobs, small-business incentives, a safe and secure America, and common-sense healthcare.

On day one, I will begin advancing legislation to expand reliable American energy, including next-generation nuclear power; create a new job ecosystem through American manufacturing, workforce development, and apprenticeships; give small businesses greater opportunity to grow and hire; strengthen border and community security; and lower healthcare costs through transparency, competition, and patient choice.

These are not campaign talking points—they are the commitments I intend to take with me to Congress. My goal is to work across party lines, turn practical ideas into legislation, and deliver results for Northern Virginia.

What are your longer-term goals, if elected?

My longer-term goal is simple: leave America stronger, safer, and more prosperous for the next generation than it is today.

I want Northern Virginia to be a place where a young family can afford their first home, where small businesses can grow without being buried by government, and where hard work still opens the door to opportunity. We must build a new job ecosystem, restore American manufacturing, develop the workforce of tomorrow, and produce abundant American energy to power our future.

I want secure borders, safe communities, affordable healthcare that puts patients first, and an America that remains strong enough to deter our adversaries and defend our freedoms.

But lasting progress will require something Washington has forgotten: we are Americans before we are Republicans or Democrats. I want to help restore that spirit of common purpose and remind the country that our best chapters have not yet been written.

What about your professional or other background has prepared you for this office?

My life has prepared me to lead through service, not politics. I served our country as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman, with the U.S. Secret Service, and later in the intelligence community, where I spent years working in some of the world’s most challenging environments. Those experiences taught me leadership, accountability, and that difficult decisions have real consequences.

I have also been a small-business owner and executive, so I understand what it means to meet payroll, create jobs, balance budgets, and deal with the real-world impact of government decisions. As a former Interim Town Manager, I gained firsthand experience managing local government, infrastructure, public safety, and taxpayer dollars.

I am not a career politician. I have served in uniform, served my country overseas, worked in government, built businesses, and led at the local level. I believe that combination of experience has prepared me to bring practical leadership, common sense, and a commitment to service to Congress.

Aside from winning the election, what has been your most important campaign goal?

Aside from winning, my most important goal has been to bring people back together and prove that we do not have to accept division as the future of American politics.

From the beginning, I have taken this campaign into communities where Republicans do not traditionally go. I have spoken with Democrats, Independents, Republicans, young voters, immigrant communities, veterans, small-business owners, and people who have simply given up on politics. I may not agree with everyone I meet, but I will always listen.

I want people to see that we can disagree without becoming enemies and find common ground without abandoning our principles. If this campaign can help restore even a little faith that public service can still be about people rather than party, then we have accomplished something bigger than any single election.

That is the kind of politics I believe America needs again: country before politics.