Bio, via The Leadership Institute:

In 2009 Aaron Ringel ran as the Republican candidate for the Virginia's House of Delegates in the 48th District which encompasses much of Arlington County. Running in a Democrat stronghold, Aaron successfully forced a well entrenched 6 term incumbent to defend a seat that had gone uncontested during the previous 3 election cycles. Proving that an aggressive urban Republican candidate can shift support in a highly Democrat district, Aaron received more votes than any previous Republican candidate to run in the 48th District and was the only Republican challenger endorsed by the Washington Post over a Democrat incumbent. Aaron attended the University of Kansas (KU) were he completed a double-major in Political Science and International Affairs, graduating in 2004. In 2001, while attending KU, Aaron put his belief in patriotism to work by joining the United States Marine Corps. As a Marine, he trained as a field radio operator with the 24th Marine Regiment. After graduating college, Aaron served six years with the United States Marine Corp Reserves to include an active-duty tour in Iraq where he served in the Al-Anabar province as an Arabic linguist with the 2ND Marine Division. Following his tour in Iraq, Aaron returned to Virginia where he began his work on Capitol Hill, specializing in the issues of energy, environment, defense, veteran’s affairs and education. Forging bipartisan coalitions in a politically divided congress, Aaron effectively worked with both Democrats and Republicans to advance numerous pieces of legislation. In 2005, while also working full-time, Aaron enrolled in a graduate degree program at American University in Washington, D.C. He used the coalition-building and bipartisan cooperation experience he had gained on Capitol Hill to bring a unique perspective to his studies. In 2008, Aaron graduated from American University with Master’s Degree in U.S. Foreign Policy. He currently resides in Arlington, Virginia where he works as a Congressional Analyst for Dynetics Inc and is an active member of the Arlington Ridge Civic Association, VFW Post 3150, and the Committee for a Better Arlington.