The son of a World War II Marine veteran, Mark Warner grew up in a working-class household. His family moved every few years but he was always able to attend good public schools. Mark was the first person in his family to graduate from college – putting himself through George Washington University through a combination of jobs and student loans.

Early in his career, Mark Warner invested his life savings – a few thousand dollars – into starting a company. It failed after six weeks. So he tried again, and the next business failed after six months.

But Mark didn’t give up, and his third venture broke through: a cell phone company back when everyone was still using landlines.

The values that defined Mark’s early career continue to guide him every day in the Senate: a commitment to innovation, persistence in the face of a new challenge, and the notion that everyone – regardless of their background – should get the same fair shot that he did.

For more information see Mark's website

Perriello is the last Democrat to represent the 5th Congressional District, having served one term from 2009 until 2011. A supporter of the creation of the Affordable Care Act, he was defeated by former state Sen. Robert Hurt in 2010.

More recently, he was the United States Special Envoy for Sudan under former President Joe Biden. In his launch video, Perriello said that things are out of control because of Republicans in Washington and that he's running because it's an "all hands on deck" moment.

He told VPM News that voters "deserve a representative who is going to listen to them and fight for their priorities, instead of trying to just focus on the priorities of the President or other people." 

For more information see Tom's website