Elections

During the 1976 presidential election year, Wolf's first campaign for Virginia's 10th congressional district ended with his loss in the Republican primary to Vince Callahan by 45%–42%.^[6] Two years later, amidst the 1978 midterm elections, he won the Republican nomination unopposed, but lost the general election to the incumbent Democrat, Joseph L. Fisher, 53%–47%.^[6]

In the 1980 House election, when Ronald Reagan's decisive victory in the presidential election brought with it a 34-seat swing in the House, Wolf's third run proved to be successful; he won the Republican primary with 75% of the vote and then defeated Fisher in a rematch, 51%–49%.^[6] In the 1982 midterms, Wolf won re-election with 53% of the vote.^[6] He would never face another contest anywhere near that close.

Wolf did not face a Democratic opponent in 1994 and 2000, winning both with over 80% of the votes against third-party candidates. After 1982, his closest races were in the Democratic wave elections of 2006 and 2008. On both occasions he defeated professor Judy Feder, by 57%–41% and 59%–39%, respectively.^[6][7] Those were the only occasions after 1982 that he received below 60 percent of the vote.

In the 2012 election, as Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney carried the district by 1%, Wolf was re-elected by 20%.^[8] In September 2013, it was announced that Wolf was to be challenged in the 2014 election by Democrat Richard Bolger, a Fairfax attorney and small business owner.^[9][10] In December 2013, Wolf announced his intention to retire from politics, leaving office in January 2015 – just days before his 76th birthday.^[4] He was succeeded by his former aide, Republican State Delegate Barbara Comstock.

Wolf's district was significantly redrawn several times during his 34 years in office. For his first six terms, he represented a compact Northern Virginia-based district covering Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudoun Counties. The 1990 redistricting by a Democratic Virginia General Assembly drew heavily Democratic Arlington County into the neighboring 8th District, while drawing the more Democratic portions of Fairfax County into the new 11th district. To make up for the loss of population, the 10th was pushed to the west and south to encompass parts of the congressional district held by U.S. Rep. George Allen, which was eliminated to create a black-majority district in accordance with the Voting Rights Act. Allen chose not to challenge Wolf, instead running for Governor of Virginia in 1993. The district kept approximately the same complexion after the 2000 apportionment by a Republican Virginia General Assembly, but lost territory in the outlying areas of the district to allow for population growth in Fairfax and Loudoun. In 2013, the Fairfax portion of the district held about 40 percent of the population, Loudoun County held 30 percent, and the remainder of the district at 30 percent.

During his final three terms, Wolf was the only Republican representing a district based in the Washington suburbs on either side of the Potomac River. The neighboring 11th district was taken by Democrat Gerry Connolly in 2008, while the last Republican representing a district on the Maryland side, Connie Morella, had been defeated in 2002.

Family and Relatives

In 2022 Wolf's grandson, Caleb Max, ran for his seat in the Republican Firehouse Primary for Virginia's then redistricted 10th Congressional District. Max was unable to take back his grandfather’s congressional seat due to the GOP committee’s tampering of the election by replacing an open primary to a closed door convention held under wraps. Also another roadblock in that race was the GOP committee’s tendency to support far right candidates affiliated with movements such as Steve Bannon and MTG, this committee led by now Delegate Geary Higgins has become a let down of the honorable Republican committee that existed during the time of Congressman Frank Wolf.

Tenure

Wolf has been especially prominent in three areas: transportation, human rights, and gambling. Before he retired, he was the co-chair of the US Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, formerly the Human Rights Caucus.^[12]

In 2010, the NRA Political Victory Fund gave him a B+ and the American Civil Liberties Union gave him 13%, dropping to 0% in 2011.^[13] Some other pre-2009 rankings include 0% from Clean Air Flow Energy,^{[citation needed]} 100% from National Right to Life,^[13] 0% from the Human Rights Campaign, 17% from the National Educational Association, 5% from the League of Conservation Voters, 92% from the United States Border Control and 10% by the Alliance for Retired Americans.^[13]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Caucus memberships

• Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (Co-chair)
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

In the 109th Congress, Wolf was chairman of Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs, and its ranking minority member in the 110th. He was co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus with Jim McGovern, who replaced the late Tom Lantos.^[32] Wolf is a member of the Moderate Republican Main Street Partnership.