Biography and Military career
Helmer is the son and grandson of immigrants and Holocaust survivors. [4] [5] He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point). In 2004,he was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. [6] Helmer is a Rhodes Scholar who earned a Masters in International Relations from Wolfson College,Oxford. [7] Helmer is married to Karen Helmer,an elementary school educator. [8]
Helmer is an Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran. [9] In 2007,the US Army tasked Helmer as a captain to stand up the Counterinsurgency Academy in Afghanistan in a central effort to improve the ability of troops on the ground to battle the Taliban. According to the Wall Street Journal,"The Army gave a 26-year-old Rhodes Scholar,Capt. Dan Helmer,six weeks to get the school up and running. Capt. Helmer tells his students,who rank as high as colonel,that the important battles here are 80% political and just 20% military. He exhorts them to go to great lengths to understand local politics,culture,and history to make sure actions they take on the battlefield help convince Afghans that the Kabul government will serve and protect them." [10]
Helmer is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve and served on the faculty of Social Sciences at West Point as an Instructor in International Affairs. [11]
Delegate for Virginia's 10th and 40th District
Helmer has served in the House of Delegates since 2020 after winning election in 2019 to Virginia's 40th House of Delegates district. After winning reelection in 2021 to the 40th,Helmer now represents Virginia's 10th House of Delegates district following his reelection in 2023 to the 10th when redistricting occurred.
Elections for the House of Delegates
In 2019,Helmer was the Democratic nominee for Virginia's 40th House of Delegates district. He ran against Republican incumbent Tim Hugo,who had been in office since 2003. According to Politifact,during the race,Hugo sent mailers that claimed,"Dan Helmer wants to END PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE." Politifact wrote that "Tim Hugo misstates Dan Helmer's position on private insurance." [12] The race broke Virginia's fundraising record for a House of Delegates election,with Hugo and Helmer raising a combined $3.6 million - it remains the sixth most expensive Virginia House race of all time. [13] Helmer won with 52% of the vote. [14]
In 2021,Helmer was again the Democratic nominee and defeated Republican Harold Pyon [15] in a year when Republicans won numerous seats and regained their majority in the Virginia House. [16] Despite the difficult year for Democrats,Helmer outperformed the Governor's race and expanded on his lead from 2019,winning with 53% of the vote. [17] [18]
During the election,Pyon distributed a campaign mailer to homes in the 40th district,which featured Helmer at a table piled with gold coins. Helmer,who is Jewish,said that in the mailer,his nose was also accentuated and his West Point military insignia was removed from his jacket. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington condemned the mailer as antisemitic. [19] Pyon's spokesman claimed the mailer was not antisemitic and could be used against any politician who raises taxes. [20] [21] An opinion article by The Washington Post editorial board claimed the mailer was paid for by the Virginia Republican Party. It also claimed "The antisemitism conveyed by Mr. Pyon's campaign mailer is classic and blatant. To claim that it was unintentional is to assert blind ignorance of history." [22]
In 2023,Helmer defeated Marine Corps veteran James Thomas with 59% of the vote in the newly drawn 10th district. [23] In the run-up to the election,Thomas denounced campaign mailers sent by Helmer that Thomas said sought to claim incumbency over new voters in the redrawn district before the democratic process had even run its course. According to The Washington Post,the campaign mailers looked like they were on "official-looking letter[heads]",and stated that Helmer could assist voters with constituent issues "as your Delegate," although Helmer's district would not encompass those voters until after the election. Helmer's campaign acknowledged the mailers. [24]
Campaigns Chair Virginia House Democratic Caucus
In 2022,then Democratic Minority Leader appointed Helmer Campaigns Chair for the Virginia House Democratic Caucus. After Democrats flipped the Virginia House and gained a majority in November 2023,Speaker-designate Don Scott told the Washington Post that "As campaigns chair,Dan Helmer was instrumental to our effort to take the majority." [25] Helmer continued to serve as Campaigns Chair for the 2025 cycle. [26]
Election of Don Scott as Democratic Minority Leader
In April 2022,Helmer was a part of a group of Democratic lawmakers who sought the removal of Eileen Filler-Corn as minority leader and the election of Don Scott to the role. Filler-Corn was removed,and Scott was elected as minority leader. Helmer was elected the Vice Chair for Outreach,Scott's previous position in the Caucus. [27] As of 2025,Helmer served as Vice Chair of the powerful House Rules Committee,which is chaired by House Speaker Scott. [28]
Legislation and Political Positions
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott has said that Helmer "has a proven record as one of the most effective legislators in Richmond." [29]
Opposition to Donald Trump and MAGA
Helmer had been an early and vocal proponent of impeaching President Donald Trump. One of Helmer's campaign ads sparked controversy by saying,"After 9/11,the greatest threat to our democracy lived in a cave (Osama bin Laden). Today,he lives in the White House (Donald Trump)." The ad faced criticism from the Trump administration as,"nothing short of reprehensible." A spokesman for Nancy Pelosi said "while the leader does not condone the end of this ad,if the president wants to join in raising the level of civility in politics,he should begin with himself." [30]
In 2023 and 2024,Helmer authored legislation that would bar individuals convicted of participation in the January 6,2021 United States Capitol attack from serving in elected office or offices of public trust. [31] Helmer said of the legislation,"The bottom line is if you're involved in an insurrection and uprising that sought to overturn an election,you shouldn't be a cop or a teacher or in the National Guard." [32]
Voter's Rights
Helmer has been engaged in multiple efforts to protect Voting Rights. In 2020,he was part of a bipartisan group that passed an amendment to Virginia’s Constitution to put redistricting in the hands of a bipartisan commission instead of the General Assembly. [33] According to Jesse Wegman,then on the Editorial Board of the New York Times,“nine Virginia Democrats agreed to put down their partisan swords and join Republicans to support the new amendment,which would require that the state’s district maps be drawn by a bipartisan commission made up of lawmakers and regular citizens.” [34] The Amendment passed in 2020 with support of 65% of Virginia voters. [35]
In 2021,Helmer passed a bill to require provisions for absentee voting in partisan nominating processes. The Virginia Mercury wrote of the bill that “Legislation passed by the General Assembly this year will require political parties that choose to forgo state-run primaries to make arrangements for absentee voting starting in 2024,a rule some lawmakers believe will make conventions so difficult they’ll cease to exist.” [36] In 2024,after the Lynchburg Republicans voted to hold a firehouse primary for city council elections in apparent contravention of the law,Helmer wrote a letter to Attorney General Jason Miyares. The letter read “We have significant concerns that the Lynchburg Republican Party has not made provisions to ensure the full accessibility of its nominating process to the protected persons and comported with the law…We ask your office to take affirmative steps to ensure the nominating process in Lynchburg protects access to the ballot and is available to all eligible voters including those who cannot appear in person.” [37] Then Republican Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert followed up with a request for a formal legal opinion from Attorney General Jason Miyares. Miyares wrote that the firehouse primary would be a violation of the law,and Lynchburg Republicans ultimately decided to hold a state-run primary in accordance with the law. [38] The law was subsequently seen as playing a critical role in the defeat of Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good by John McGuire in a June 2024 primary,although McGuire had voted against the bill as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. [39]
Firearms
Helmer has been a vocal proponent of Gun Control laws. In May 2018,Helmer filmed a video of his purchase of a semi-automatic assault-style rifle without a background check at a gun show in a video that subsequently went viral. [40] In 2020,a group of students from March for Our Lives slept over in Helmer’s and another legislator’s office to ensure they could demonstrate in favor of gun laws in the face of death threats and a State of Emergency declared by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam due to the 2020 VCDL Lobby Day rally. [41]
As a state legislator,Helmer has been a vocal proponent of firearms regulations and a critic of federal inaction on firearms regulation. [42] A proposed bill by Helmer in 2020 to prohibit certain indoor firing ranges stirred significant outrage by gun rights advocates including National Rifle Association Spokesperson Dana Loesch as it would have shut down the NRA’s gun range. [43] [44]
Helmer has been the patron of a proposed Assault Weapons Ban for many years,with the bill passing the General Assembly for the first time in 2024. [45] The bill was subsequently vetoed by Governor Glenn Youngkin. [46]
Women's Rights,Reproductive Rights,and Infertility Coverage
Helmer supports abortion,the Equal Rights Amendment,and eliminating taxes on menstrual hygiene products. [47]
When Democrats lost their majority in the Virginia House in 2021 elections in Virginia,Helmer was a vocal proponent of calling a special session of the General Assembly in order to pass abortion protections and the first reading of a Constitutional Amendment to protect abortion rights. [48] [49] While no Special Session took place,Helmer was the copatron of the first reading of a Constitutional Amendment to protect reproductive rights that passed in 2025. [50]
Since 2020,Helmer has patroned multiple bills to provide coverage for infertility services including IVF. In 2021,his efforts to cover IVF were studied by Virginia’s Health Insurance Reform Commission. [51] In 2022,Elizabeth Carr,the first baby born to IVF in the United States called on the Virginia legislature in an Op-Ed in The Washington Post to pass legislation by Helmer to cover IVF treatments. [52] In 2024,Helmer led an effort to provide presumptive Workman’s Compensation Coverage for Firefighters who faced infertility. [53]
Sexual Violence Prevention on College Campuses and Fight with Virginia Military Institute
In 2020,Helmer passed a bill to ensure victims of sexual assault on college campuses could report their assaults without fear of being punished for underage drinking and drug use. However,the Virginia Senate excluded the Virginia Military Institute from the bill after heavy lobbying by VMI. [54] According to Helmer,the Superintendent of VMI “told Helmer that drugs posed a far more serious threat to student discipline than sexual assault.” [55] Later in 2020,Helmer called for complete culture change at the institution. [56] In 2022,Helmer introduced a bill to end the exemption for VMI but it failed on a party-line vote. Finally in 2023,VMI supported an end to the exemption for VMI from the sexual assault reporting provisions,and Helmer passed a bill that ended their exemption and became law. [57]
Antisemitism
In 2024,Helmer passed a bill that garnered widespread attention that added “ethnicity”as a protected class to Virginia’s hate crimes bill. [58] The Washington Jewish Week and other Jewish periodicals such as the Jewish News Syndicate covered the bill based on its extension of hate crimes protections to various antisemitic acts. [59] [60]
Combating Hunger and Poverty
In 2021,Helmer passed a bill that,according to the Virginia Poverty Law Center,extended SNAP benefits to 25,000 Virginia families and that was expected to bring over $100 million in new food aid annually to Virginia. [61] [62]
Education
In 2022,Helmer and a group of other delegates introduced floor amendments to force GOP House members to take votes on whether they considered teaching certain aspects of US history and science to be “divisive concepts”under House Bill 787 introduced by Dave LaRock. Republicans universally voted down the amendments that would have ensured the “Three-Fifths Compromise”and “Supreme Court precedents”were not considered “divisive concepts.” [64]
In 2024,Helmer and State Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg passed legislation making Virginia the second state in the country after Colorado to prohibit the practice of giving preference at public universities in Virginia to children of alumni. [65]
In 2025,Helmer and VanValkenburg introduced and passed major reforms of Virginia’s Standards of Learning tests that sought to align the tests to current curricula and reduce the amount of class time lost to testing. [66]
In response to a High School football scandal involving Hayfield High School,Helmer authored legislation to prevent recruiting in high school sports and misuse of federal homeless designations. [67] In 2025,the bill did not become law,but Helmer vowed to continue work on the issue. [68]
Cannabis
In 2021,Helmer passed legislation that prevented employers from firing employees who used medical cannabis but were not impaired on the job. However,the bill did not cover public employees like firefighters. The law did not prevent the firing of individuals for recreational use of cannabis. [69] In 2024,Helmer passed legislation that changed the law again to afford the same protections for use of medical cannabis to public sector employees as was afforded to private sector employees. [70]
Healthcare
In 2022,Helmer championed and passed on a bipartisan basis legislation to mandate Virginia hospitals provide a full list of all prices they charge online. According to an Op-Ed Helmer published in the Wall Street Journal,“Price disclosures will protect patients from widespread hospital overcharges and allow consumers to more easily fight overbilling. Price transparency empowers people to identify the care they need without the delay associated with fear of unknown,inflated hospital bills.” [71] The law went into effect on July 1,2023. [72] [73]
Environmental Protections
Helmer is the author of the High-Performance Building Act that went into effect in 2021 and requires that public sector building construction in Virginia adheres to Green Globes or LEED standard in most cases. [74]
Affordable Housing
On January 24,2025,the Washington Post Editorial Board featured Helmer’s HB2641 as a critical step to address housing affordability in Virginia. [75] [76]
Veterans
Helmer authored a Constitutional Amendment,approved by voters and incorporated into Virginia’s Constitution in 2021,that provided a motor vehicle property tax for 100% disabled military veterans. [77] Helmer also claimed that his work on Paid Family Medical Leave was to support veterans and military families,telling Petula Dvorak of the Washington Post: “‘An all-volunteer force wasn’t constructed with working spouses in mind…If you want to take care of these people . . . but don’t do anything for the spouses,for the dual-income families to help them make it,”Helmer said,it’s hard to “consider yourself to be pro-military or pro-veteran.’” [78]
Foreign Policy
In March 2022,Helmer sponsored and passed a bipartisan resolution in the Virginia House of Delegates expressing support for Ukraine. [79]
Helmer,whose grandfather fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War,has been an outspoken supporter of the State of Israel and its response to the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. [80] According to Jewish Insider,Helmer said in 2024 that “American leadership is best served by having strong relationships with other democracies,and by leading with our values,and that includes having a strong relationship with the Jewish democracy in Israel.” [81]
Congressional Candidate for Virginia's 10th District
2024 Congressional Campaign
In November 2023,shortly after winning reelection to his House of Delegates seat,Helmer announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for a second time in Virginia's 10th congressional district after the incumbent representative,Democrat Jennifer Wexton,declined to run for reelection due to illness. [85]
Helmer earned the endorsement of the Washington Post Editorial Board which wrote that “Mr. Helmer last year chaired the Virginia Democratic caucus’s campaign committee,which turned the House of Delegates blue,yet has never accepted corporate donations. After winning his seat from a GOP incumbent in 2019,Mr. Helmer championed gun-safety legislation:helping formulate a red-flag law,expanding background checks and pushing an assault weapons ban. Years before it became a front-and-center political issue,Mr. Helmer was fighting to force insurance companies to cover in vitro fertilization as an essential health benefit. He sponsored a 2022 bill that requires Virginia hospitals to publish standard prices for items and services online. And he wrote legislation that expanded food stamps to more than 25,000 families.” [86]
Helmer,who led in early voting,ultimately came in 2nd place to Suhas Subramnyam who earned the endorsement of Jennifer Wexton,the retiring Congresswoman. [87] Helmer led fundraising in the race,raising over $1.5 million. [88] The Loudoun Times-Mirror reported that Helmer indirectly received over $5.4 million from three political action committees (PACs) in support of his run through June 2024. [89]
One week prior to the June 2024 Democratic Primary,NOTUS reported that four local Democratic officials had released an allegation that unspecified inappropriate behavior by Helmer in 2018 had led to the Loudoun County Democratic Committee adopting a sexual harassment policy. Helmer immediately denied the allegations saying,“These are baseless claims with no specific details from six years ago…They have been made for the first time a week before an election by people who have endorsed my opponents. I’m proud of my record standing up against harassment.” [90]
Several local Democratic officials including several of Helmer’s opponents in the primary called on Helmer to withdraw from the race as did the Virginia Chapter of the National Organization of Women. [91] Helmer stayed in the race,and neither the Washington Post nor any of Helmer’s endorsers rescinded their endorsements as a result of the allegation. [92] The New York Times subsequently called the race “the ugliest fight of the 2024 primary season”citing the allegations against Helmer as well as other allegations of impropriety against others in the primary contest including Subramnyam,Filler-Corn,and Krystle Kaul. [93] The primary election was highlighted by Roll Call as a race to watch because of the substantial fundraising and the allegations leveled against Helmer. [94]
In February 2025,Helmer filed a defamation lawsuit against the Loudoun County Democratic party officials and formal officials involved in the allegation. [95] According to Semafor,the court filings showed that only a month before the allegation,the accuser had texted Helmer that the accusation of sexual misconduct was “‘typical Republican tactics’to divide their party. One month later the same activist was telling reporters that Helmer had groped her. Avram Fechter,one of the local Democrats who’d backed up the harassment story,funded a PAC whose last-minute ads claimed that Helmer was ‘credibly accused of sexual assault.’”According to the Washington Post,“the suit cites campaign reports showing that the woman received $10,000 for work performed for a rival campaign.”The Washington Post reported that the lawsuit claimed that “The [defamatory] statements proximately caused [Helmer] to lose the Primary Election;he had a clear lead in the polls prior to the publication of the defamatory statements,as well as in early voting returns and fundraising.” [96]
United States 