Bert Mizusawa, a retired Army major general and attorney, is the Republican nominee challenging Mark R. Warner for Virginia's U.S. Senate seat on Nov. 3, 2026.

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
  • Office sought: U.S. Senate, Virginia
  • 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, reaching the rank of 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, according to Wikipedia.

He also served two appointments as a MacArthur Fellow in international security at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, according to Wikipedia.

Mizusawa said on his campaign website that he served as professional staff member on the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services from 1995 to 1998, then as deputy under secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2001. He said he commanded the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force in Afghanistan from 2014 to 2015.

He worked as an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell from 1990 to 1994, according to Wikipedia. According to BallotReady, 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 drawn from Mizusawa's responses on his campaign issues page and candidate questionnaires. They reflect the candidate's own statements.

National debt and spending: In his Ballotpedia questionnaire, Mizusawa said the national debt has more than tripled since Warner joined the Senate. He said he would "focus government on its core functions and bring excessive spending under control."

Defense and veterans: On his campaign issues page, Mizusawa said Virginia needs a pro-military senator. He said he graduated first in his class at West Point, was promoted to major general in 2011 and "authored the Trump doctrine for foreign policy."

Taxes: Mizusawa called the tax code "overly complex and burdensome" and said he supports a simpler code with fewer brackets and larger standard deductions.

Immigration: Mizusawa said the country must keep borders secure while making legal immigration easier. He said immigrants who come legally should be prepared to assimilate to the American way of life and should not, in his words, "turn America into the lands they were fleeing."

Energy: Mizusawa said he supports bringing new nuclear power online. He called nuclear power "clean, cheap, reliable and safe" and said it could reduce household energy costs.