Steve Woll Qualifies for November Ballot in Virginia's 3rd Congressional District
Steve Woll Qualifies for November Ballot in Virginia's 3rd Congressional District
Navy veteran, scientist, and businessman collects 1,600 signatures in roughly one month, mounting the strongest independent challenge Hampton Roads has seen in years
Norfolk, Virginia, 08-26-2026 — Voters in Virginia's 3rd Congressional District will have a serious independent alternative on the ballot this November. Steve Woll, a 21-year U.S. Navy veteran, scientist, small business owner, and independent, officially qualified for the November general election after his campaign collected 1,600 signatures from qualified district voters in roughly one month — well above the 1,000 signatures required by the Commonwealth.
Woll's qualification is the strongest challenge the district has seen in recent memory. Rep. Bobby Scott, who has held the seat since 1993, has not faced a competitive general election in the last three cycles, winning each time by more than 35 points. The district covers Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton, and portions of Chesapeake — home to the highest concentration of active-duty service members, veterans, civil servants, and defense industry families in the country.
"The pace of that petition drive told us what we already suspected," said Woll. "Voters in this district are tired of a broken two-party system that has failed to deliver yet - on both sides - has treated the 3rd like a district that safely belonged to one party, instead of a dynamic community that needs dynamic Congressional representation. Thousands of them signed our petitions because they wanted a choice — and they wanted that choice on this ballot. That's not a small thing. That's a mandate to get to work."
Woll spent 21 years in the U.S. Navy as a meteorology and oceanography officer, deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and commanding the teams that provided at-sea support for the dozen aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious ships across the Atlantic Fleet. After retiring from active duty, he has worked in the private sector on data, technology, and public-private partnerships in Hampton Roads and nationally, and with veteran-led civic organizations focused on bridging political divides.
"Both parties have spent so long fighting each other that they've forgotten how to serve the people who sent them to Washington," Woll said. "This district has been left waiting long enough. We're running to win in November, and we're running to prove that a serious independent — with a career of solving hard problems under pressure — is exactly what Hampton Roads has been asking for."
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Contact: press@stevewoll.com
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