u/Adam4Congress

Friends, neighbors. Adam here. Running for office, but this post isn’t politicking or about my campaign. Just something cool that happened yesterday that I figure people might smile at. Mods, hope it’s permissible.

So, went to history fest yesterday with my campaign crew to collect signatures and see the cool stuff on display. I’m a nerd for history anyway, so it was a fun morning. Anybody who gets the chance should check the mobile museum out.

After seeing the stalls and buying some local kitsch, we were at the main stage for the morning program. We listened to the acapela choir, heard presentations from local officials, and even got to meet our own resident Nobel laureate. Pretty cool.

But then! At one point, Alexander Hamilton made a surprise appearance and rallied troops to the continental cause. It took me a couple seconds to realize, but eventually it hit me: The guy playing Hamilton was actually my buddy and a fellow (former) congressional candidate.

I’m a Democrat, he’s a Republican, and we disagree on a lot of things. But after seeing each other on the campaign trail several times, we’re definitely friends. He had to end his campaign recently with all the tumult, and I was kinda sad I wouldn’t run into my buddy anymore as the season went on. But lo, there he was on stage, in full period garb, hamming it up as only Hamilton would.

He clocked me in the crowd, gave a wry smile, and shouted me out. There were some vague, humorous allusions to me being his Aaron Burr. Crowd seemed to get a kick out of it. Protecting his secret identity for now, but maybe he’ll see this and check in below in the comments.

I don’t know. Politics seems to be ruining lives daily these days. Being a political candidate has been a slog for everyone in this crazy whiplash election. But at least for a few hours yesterday, there was a pure moment to celebrate history and find some unexpected camaraderie with a friend across the aisle. I enjoyed that. And I hope everybody else in Arlington gets the chance to see the mobile museum while it’s in the area. Figured maybe that was worth sharing. Happy Mother’s Day all.

It me.

Hey r/Virginia. My name's Adam Dunigan. Sorry to put politics in your feed first thing on a Friday morning, but... I'm running for Congress and it's AMA day!

I used to be in the Marine Corps. Until very recently, I was a case officer at CIA. I was 3 years out from a federal pension, but decided to blow up my life and enter politics instead. They say bravery and stupidity only differ in outcome. I'm really hoping this move was brave.

I'm a proud, god-fearing, registered Democrat. I'm running in Virginia's new 7th District, colloquially known as the "Fightin' Scorpion" due to its distinct shape and our ever-blowing wind of change. Here's my platform, check it out. Here's an explainer I made on the April 2026 Redistricting Referendum, if you want to hear how I talk and think. Here's my most recent media appearance out in Harrisonburg, if you want to see how I'm being covered so far. (EDIT: I know, I should have worn a suit. It's hard to change wardrobe on a motorcycle.)

This district stretches from Augusta county in the west, to Key Bridge in Arlington in the east, and Culpepper and Goochland in the south. It includes highly urban areas, very rural areas, and the former house of Steven Miller, who we Virginians bullied into moving out of state with nothing but sidewalk chalk. Shine on, you crazy diamonds.

...Look, I know everyone hates politicians. I know we're all already exhausted from the nightmare news cycle, the acrimony around the April referendum, and the election season harassment that has been going on since last year. But I mean this with full sincerity: When I look at this country, I see really ugly things happening both publicly and behind the scenes. I've confronted the authoritarian playbook overseas when I was in my previous careers, and worse can happen here if we're not vigilant.

It's easy to blame the current presidential administration for the dark turn in American history, and they will definitely have to answer for their actions, but Trump's a symptom and not the cause. We all know that. Our political system is captured by big money and back-room power networks. Not in some grand conspiracy sense, but a much more banal, stupid sense: It's just money.

Money in politics, and a lack of integrity and ethics in elected officials, is the sickness that's killing this country. The result is lack of consequences for the wealthy and powerful when they violate law and decency. Political office has become a grift in and of itself, and American society will never heal unless we burn out the rot and build some renewed social trust.

Captured as it is, Washington won't ever change itself. That's why I'm here. To force the conversation, make them look us in the eye, and get a shot at making actual people's lives better. Until we get the coalition we need to mandate ethics in political finance, I'm making this voluntary ethics pledge to every citizen of my district:

I will voluntarily term limit myself to no more than 8 years in Congress.
I will neither own nor trade stocks while in office.
I will donate 50% of any income beyond my salary back to community programs for my district.
I will make my personal finances available for 24/7 public review.
I will place all of my personal assets in a blind trust until I leave office.

I figure you need someone to set the example, and then bully the rest of our elected officials into following suit. I didn't see anybody stepping up, so here I am. Ask away.

Edit 0959h: Taking a 30 minute break, will be back at it by 1030h.

Edit 1028h: HAHAHA so i guess the Virginia Supreme Court just canceled redistricting? Literally like 5 minutes ago. So maybe I'm back to running in the old 8th district? Nobody knows! Maybe it'll go to SCOTUS. But fuck it, I'll still answer questions. Let's get back to it.

Edit 1209h: That's lunch, y'all. This was fun. ish. Fun-ish. Either way, I hope it was useful for anyone who asked a question (or reads later). I'll come back when I can to answer remaining questions/follow ups, but schedule's gotta get moving for the day. Appreciate you all, get in touch with my campaign if you want to help out (anyone, anywhere, don't have to be in Virginia). For anyone that can, and I absolutely hate doing this, please consider donating to the campaign. I'm trying to keep my finance clean and pay my staff a fair wage; if you can help the team out, I promise to keep making weird unhinged sarcastic comments on reddit.

Fun anecdote from Arlington’s HistoryFest and the America250 mobile museum in Arlington yesterday

I'm Adam Dunigan. Former Marine, ex-CIA, and candidate for Virginia's new 7th Congressional District. First time candidate, learning on the fly, trying to shake people awake ahead of the 2026 midterms. AMA.