CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) During his 20 years in the U.S. Army, including a combat tour in Iraq, Bronze Star veteran Paul Riley learned the importance of supporting “your battle buddies.”

It’s why, as Riley kicks off his campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 5th Congressional District, he’s beginning with a listening tour, seeking to hear from voters about their concerns and answer their questions.

“We really want to get out there and take an active role in listening to the concerns of the constituents,” Riley told Cville Right Now on Thursday. “Because frankly they’re not getting that right now.”

Riley criticized Republican incumbent John McGuire for his failure to hold townhall meetings with voters, especially in the Charlottesville and Albemarle County areas. And Riley pointed to McGuire’s support of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill as a sign that McGuire is out of touch with the district’s best interests.

“It all stems from personal courage,” said Riley, who lives in Crozet and now works as a defense contractor. “Have the personal courage to go out and meet your constituents and answer their questions. The listening tour is a 180 from McGuire. The townhalls are non-existent, he won’t answer emails unless it’s just a form email that says nothing. I think constituents are getting angry and rightfully so. They want answer to the questions they’re asking, and they’re just not getting it.”

Riley said McGuire’s support of Trump’s finance bill abandons the needs of the working class population of the district in favor of tax cuts for the nation’s most wealthy.

“It’s projected to add $3 trillion to the debt within a 10-year period,” Riley said. “Our defense budget, even though I’m a strong proponent of defense, is bloated and we added to the defense budget and took away from the people who need it most. There are 167,000 in the district on Medicaid. Trump, McGuire they did support this and I think it’s going to have ramifications in the long term. We’re going to have more people taken off of Medicaid and it’s going to create a health crisis probably within the district and Virginia at large.”

Riley planned to officially launch his campaign Thursday afternoon with a press conference at Claudius Crozet Park.

He is building his campaign around pro-business model, labeling Trump’s tariff policy as “reckless” and saying trickle-down economic theories have been proven not to work time and time again.

Riley ran, unsuccessfully, for the Democratic nomination in 2024, placing third behind nominee Gloria Tinsley Witt and Gary Terry in a crowded field that included two other candidates who dropped out before the election.

Tinsley Witt went on to lose to McGuire that November.

Riley joined that campaign later on and still was able to attract over 20% of the vote, with 5,063 voters casting their primary ballot for him.

That failed run, he said, taught him valuable lessons for this year’s campaign, including the importance of hitting the ground running as early as possible and the significance of separating himself from other candidates.

But, most importantly, Riley believes he will win the nomination – and then the seat in Congress – by listening to all the district’s voters.

“To me, every constituent here is a battle buddy,” Riley said. “Help them out in a time of need. Don’t take things away from them. Give them the things they need to succeed and that includes education and that includes good infrastructure and all the things that we’re going to be lacking with the passing of this big ugly bill.”