About
MATT BAKER
Colonel, USMC (Ret) · Naval Academy '87 · Hampton Roads, Virginia
Home
Hampton Roads is home — not a campaign stop.
My dad retired from the Army out of Fort Monroe in 1970, and our family moved to Panama for his work with the Canal Zone Government. That’s where I spent my formative years graduating from high school in 1982. It took an extra year at Rice University, but I won an appointment to Annapolis and commissioned in the Marines in 1987.
My personal relationship with this area began with a submarine training cruise in 1984 aboard USS Baltimore. I came back in 1998 for a three-year tour at the Hampton Roads NROTC (ODU, NSU and HU). In 2012 my wife and I moved here for good. We’ve raised three children here, all of whom will have graduated from high school in Virginia Beach. I retired from the Marine Corps out of Fort Story and transitioned with a local firm in Chesapeake doing microgrid work and I am currently working in the energy sector as an engineer and business development executive.
During my first decade in the area, I voted in the 2nd District. However, congressional district boundaries were redrawn for the 2022 elections, and my neighborhood was moved to VA-03. I did not leave the district; the mapmakers simply shifted a line less than a mile to the east. My community and the people I identify with are unchanged. Fortunately, the law is clear, and I only need to be a resident of the state to run in the 2nd District. And there is nowhere else I would rather represent.
Once elected, I will answer voters, all of them, not to a party. I will work for the well-being of all, not just those who share my political views. I will fight for families and the shared values that unite us as Americans. I will listen to your concerns and work with you on solutions. I will be independent.
I'm an Army brat. After my dad retired from the Army, our family moved to the Panama for his work with the Canal Zone Government. That's where I grew up, first grade through twelfth. It's where I fell in love with the water and the outdoors, through competitive swimming, Scouts, and JROTC.
My wife and I have called Hampton Roads home for 14 years. We raised three kids here — two of them graduates of Catholic High School in Virginia Beach, one still attending.
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For my first decade here I voted in the 2nd District, worked at Fort Story and Chesapeake, and built my life in this community. When congressional district lines were redrawn for the 2022 elections, my neighborhood was moved to VA-03. I didn't leave this district — the mapmakers moved it. My community hasn't changed. The people I want to represent haven't changed. If you want to know what redistricting does to actual communities, I'm an example.
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The law is clear: I only need to be a resident of the State of Virginia to run in the 2nd District. And there is nowhere in Virginia I would rather represent.
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I answer to the voters of Virginia's 2nd District — the shipyard workers, the sailors and Marines, the veterans, the small business owners, the families navigating health care costs and housing prices and flood insurance. Not to a party. Not to a donor. To them.
28 Years of Service
I've led Marines in combat and engineers in the field.
Three wars. Six continents. 1,200 Marines under my command. What those years actually taught me: how to lead people under pressure, how to tell the truth when it's unwelcome, and how to be accountable for outcomes — not excuses.
Active Duty Leadership
CO Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group — World-wide Capacity Building
Battalion Commander — led 1,200 Marines & Sailors in combat, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Battalion XO — March Up to Baghdad, 2003
Platoon Commander — securing the breach, Desert Storm
CO Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group — World-wide Capacity Building
Battalion Commander — led 1,200 Marines & Sailors in combat, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Battalion XO — March Up to Baghdad, 2003
Platoon Commander — securing the breach, Desert Storm
SVP, Grid Modernization, Typhoon HIL — helped scale the company from $3.5M to $24M in revenue
SVP, Grid Modernization, Typhoon HIL — helped scale the company from $3.5M to $24M in revenue
Principal Investigator — $1.2M DoD microgrid demonstration project
Director, Energy Programs, Fairlead Integrated – Delivered four DOD and DHS hybrid energy projects capturing $1.6million in revenue
Retired as Colonel after 28 years
B.S. Aerospace Engineering — U.S. Naval Academy
M.S. Aerospace Engineering — University of Maryland
MBA — Old Dominion University
SecDef Corporate Fellow — Royal Dutch Shell
Eagle Scout · IEEE Member
"Reality doesn't care about your talking points. Systems either work or they fail, and wishing doesn't change an outcome."
- Matt Baker
Veterans and engineers have learned something politicians rarely do: reality doesn't care about your talking points. Systems either work or they fail, and hoping doesn't change an outcome.
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I've planned operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait — and delivered millions of dollars of engineering solutions for critical power applications in the energy sector. I know how high-stakes systems fail, and how to keep them from failing. Mine is the skillset this moment requires.
"Reality doesn't care about your talking points. Systems either work or they fail, and wishing doesn't change an outcome."
- Matt Baker
Private Sector
Congress is a high-stakes system failing at every integration point.
How I'll Govern
My operating principles aren't talking points.
I will campaign the way I intend to govern: by engaging, not broadcasting. Town halls will be conversations, not speeches. I will ask questions as well as answer them, and I will listen — in both directions.
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Be kind, courageous, and independent — all, at the same time. Be independent in thought, in vote, in conscience. Accept challenge; if it's easy, it's likely not worth doing. Always be learning. Be honorable in all things. Laugh — most of all at yourself. Care for yourself and others. Do your best and help others do theirs. Keep a bias for action — when things are unclear, lean toward doing.
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These principles are how I live. Not a platform. Not a promise. A track record.
REBECCA C. BERRY EXPERIENCED RESULTS DRIVEN LEADERSHIP
2035