Healthcare advocate and public servant Dan Lee launches campaign for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District
Korean American outsider challenges Virginia Democratic establishment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025
Today, Dan Lee announced his bid for U.S. Congress in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District. Dan is a proud husband, public servant, and healthcare technology entrepreneur who has been a public sector champion advocating for reduced healthcare costs and improving access. He has earned a reputation as an effective and innovative problem-solver and will take that same approach to Washington, DC to deliver results for hardworking Virginians.
With the chaos in DC affecting our livelihoods, too many Democrats are standing by instead of standing up for us. While Republicans strip us of our basic rights and protections, they pave the way for their billionaire backers to gut our hospitals, slash our federal workforce, and profit trillions off of our healthcare. With no clear frontrunner in a crowded Democratic Primary, Dan is running as a fresh, new voice for Virginians who need a backstop, not a bystander, against the Trump Administration’s attacks on working families.
Born and raised in Fairfax County to working-class South Korean immigrants, Dan’s parents often worked two jobs and took on extra shifts to give their children a shot at the American Dream. A proud graduate of Fairfax County public schools, Dan mopped floors to put himself through college and later served in the White House, at the World Bank, and as a senior aide to the Democratic Chief of Staff for the Governor of Massachusetts. Dan studied biological sciences at GWU and earned graduate degrees in public health and business administration from Dartmouth.
Dan’s journey as a healthcare advocate began while serving as a caregiver for his mother, who, like too many Americans, struggled to access affordable life-saving care. After years of rationing his medications, Dan’s father passed away from heart complications, and Dan’s mother, a lifelong nurse, lacked insurance until she was eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. These experiences inspired Dan to fight for greater healthcare transparency and affordability to fix our broken system. In his spare time, Dan also serves as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in McLean, Virginia.
“The healthcare industry’s current arrangement was designed to maximize profit, not wellbeing,” Dan says. “My work alleviating the load for patients navigating Medicare, Medicaid, insurers, and providers - to say nothing of my time caring for my mother - has shown me that reform needs to bolster the programs keeping Virginians healthy and curb corporate interests from putting profit over patients.”
Dan has brought on Tashi Chogyal as Campaign Manager. Tashi formerly served as the National Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Engagement Deputy Director for Harris for President and is a veteran of the Obama Campaign and Administration. Dan has assembled a top-tier team of campaign professionals with a proven track record of success in Virginia and nationwide. Dan’s deep, local roots, strong network, and unwavering commitment to do the work will ensure he has the resources necessary to communicate his compelling message.
As congressional Republicans look to cut taxes on the wealthy, while cutting Medicare for millions of working families, Dan is running for Congress because Northern Virginia deserves a Democrat representing the people.
Learn more about Dan and get involved!