An Arlington resident and former federal prosecutor is running for Virginia lieutenant governor.

Victor Salgado, the fifth declared candidate vying to be the Democratic Party’s nominee in November, knows he’s a political outsider. But he told ARLnow that possible federal policy changes inspired him to enter the political arena.

“We need to respond to some of the policies of federal encroachment coming our way with smart legislation and partnerships,” he said. “There are going to be important court battles, but I see our next steps as being primarily political.”

Salgado, who spent eight years working in the U.S. Department of Justice, kicked off his campaign this month and launched his website this week.

A campaign video mentions priorities of protections for reproductive rights, special education, and early childhood programs, as well as fighting possible policies related to immigration and citizenship status under the Trump administration.

“When that happens, Richmond needs to step up,” he said in the video.

Virginia’s lieutenant governor has limited duties but, as the president of the Senate, is a key figure in crafting policy around the statehouse.

The son of Peruvian immigrants, Salgado was born and raised in New Jersey. But his legal life — starting with a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University — began in the D.C. area.

From 2006 to 2012, he focused on compliance, enforcement and government investigations at a D.C. law office before leaving for a four-year stint as a Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey.

Salgado returned to the D.C. area in April 2016 as part of the DOJ’s public integrity section, which oversees the investigation and prosecution of all federal crimes affecting government integrity.

He was promoted to senior litigation counsel for the public integrity section in 2020, and remained in that position until this month.

“I cut my chops as a prosecutor, essentially policing our systems of government and protecting our democracy,” Salgado said. “That positions me — quite uniquely — to talk about the issues that I want to talk about in this campaign and the reason why I’m jumping at this juncture.”

Since September 2019, he has also worked as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, focusing on white collar crime and securities fraud.

“I am going to outwork everybody in this race,” Salgado said. “I quit the department so that I can focus on this, exclusively working 18-hour days non-stop from today through the primary.”

He said residents throughout Arlington and Virginia should keep an eye out for him.

“I will be talking to anybody who wants to talk to me,” the candidate said. “You will see me outside of Metro stops greeting people, meeting people outside of grocery stores, talking to people … I want to be busy. I intend to be busy. This is going to be my job, 24/7.”

The other candidates in the Democratic field are state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (15th District), Prince William County School Board chair Babur Lateef, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (22nd District) and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

The primary election is scheduled for June 17.