By May 2017, five Democrats had announced their candidacy for the Democratic nomination to run against Comstock. In July 2017, Republican Shak Hill, who ran for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2014, announced that he was preparing to mount a primary challenge against Comstock in 2018. Comstock won the June 12th primary easily. “Republicans in purple districts are leaving Congress in droves,” reported "The Washington Post" in April 2018. “So why does Barbara Comstock want to stay?” Her answer was: “I'm healthy, my family's healthy, my kids are healthy, I love this job.”