Bert Mizusawa, a Republican and retired U.S. Army major general, is running for U.S. Senate in Virginia against Democrat Mark R. Warner in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Mizusawa won the Republican primary on Aug. 4, receiving 51.5% of the vote against David Williams and Kim Farington, according to Ballotpedia. He is certified for the general election ballot.

Candidate information

  • Party: Republican
  • Born: January 1957, Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Education: Kecoughtan High School (1975); bachelor's degree, United States Military Academy at West Point (1979); juris doctor, Harvard University (1989); master of public policy, Harvard Kennedy School (1989)

Experience and public service

Mizusawa served in the U.S. Army from 1979 to 2015, retiring as a major general, according to Wikipedia. He was awarded the Silver Star in 1984 for leading a Soviet defector to safety across the Military Demarcation Line into South Korea while under attack from North Korean soldiers at Panmunjom, Korea.

He served two appointments as a MacArthur Fellow in international security at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He also worked as an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell from 1990 to 1994.

Mizusawa said on his campaign website that he served as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services from 1995 to 1998, as deputy under secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2001, and as commander of the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force in Afghanistan from 2014 to 2015. He said he served as a senior advisor at the Central Intelligence Agency from 2020 to 2021 and is president of Paxcentric Inc.

On the issues

The following positions are Mizusawa's own statements from his campaign issues page and his Ballotpedia profile.

National debt and spending: Mizusawa said the national debt has more than tripled since Warner joined the Senate. "I will focus government on its core functions and bring excessive spending under control," he said.

Defense and veterans: Mizusawa said Virginia needs a "pro-military Senator" and cited his record as a combat veteran who graduated number one at West Point and was promoted to major general in 2011. He said he authored the Trump doctrine for foreign policy and was appointed senior advisor for national security technology and business integration at the CIA.

Immigration: Mizusawa said the country should keep its borders secure while making legal immigration easier. He said those who legally immigrate should be prepared to assimilate to American life.

Taxes: Mizusawa said the tax code is overly complex and called for a simpler system with fewer brackets and larger standard deductions.

Energy: Mizusawa said he supports bringing new nuclear power online to reduce household energy costs, calling nuclear power "clean, cheap, reliable and safe."

Mizusawa's issue positions were drawn from his responses on BallotReady and Ballotpedia. The McLean Ledger presents them for voter information and does not endorse any candidate.