Ex-Wolf Staffers Back Comstock in Bid for Congressman's Seat

A number of former staff members to U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA-10) stepped into the campaign to replace the congressman by throwing their support behind Republican Barbara Comstock.

Comstock, a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly who served as a senior aide to Wolf in the 1990s, and state Sen. Dick Black, R-Leesburg, have each launched campaigns for the GOP nod in the race. Three Democrats have also entered the fray: Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust; Richard Bolger, a small business owner and attorney Fairfax; and Leesburg architect Sam Kubba.

While both Republicans would be considered of the conservative ilk, Black might be considered the one with a harder conservative edge. Several years back he sent plastic fetuses to members of the Virginia General Assembly to make a point about an abortion bill.

Comstock, on the other hand, has been a bit of a Republican darling in Virginia, making visible pitches for Mitt Romney’s campaign for president in 2012.

Wolf has held Virginia’s 10th Congressional District since first elected in 1980. His staff’s endorsement of Comstock Wednesday could be seen as a signal of which candidate the congressman will support. The staff members released a statement as a group, called the “Wolf Pack."

"Frank Wolf has been a model of what selfless public service should look like, and all of us learned from him that when you are endowed with the public trust, you put your constituents first. No one learned that better than Barbara Comstock, as exemplified by her service in the Virginia General Assembly,” the Wolf Pack said in the group statement. “As former members of Congressman Wolf's staff, we can think of no one more qualified to serve the people of the 10th Congressional District than Barbara Comstock.”

The “Wolf Pack” is identified as:

• William Moschella Former Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice (2003-2008) and Former Senior Legislative Assistant to Rep. Frank Wolf 
• M. Evan Corcoran Former Assistant U.S. Attorney and former Appropriations Committee Associate Staff 
• Janet Powell Former Appropriations Committee staff, Rep. Frank Wolf 
• Buzz Hawley Former Senior Legislative Assistant, Rep. Frank R. Wolf; Republican Nominee, Mason District Supervisor, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, 2003; Member, Virginia Republican State Central Committee 2004-2006 
• Mark Planning Former Appropriations Committee staff, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• J.T. Griffin Former Appropriations Legislative Assistant, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• Nancy S. Bennett Former Press Secretary, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• David Whitestone Former Appropriations Associate Staff and Press Secretary, Rep. Frank R. Wolf
• Elizabeth Maier Former Legislative Assistant and Committee Staff, Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Former Legislative Director, Sen. John Kyl (AZ-R) 
• Rebecca Middleton Former Senior Legislative Assistant, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• Jill DiPuccio Giles Former Scheduler and Legislative Assistant, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• Nancy Bruce Herbolsheimer Former Appropriations Committee Associate Staff, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• Melinda Bohn Conner Former Legislative Assistant, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• Thomas Lynch Former Staff Assistant, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• Jim Boyle Former Press Secretary, Rep. Frank R. Wolf 
• Kellie Boyle Former Legislative Correspondent, Rep. Frank R. Wolf