If Republicans fail to unseat freshman Virginia Democratic Rep. Glenn Nye next year, it won’t be because of a lack of interest.

Scott Taylor, a businessman and former Navy SEAL, announced his candidacy Tuesday, becoming the sixth Republican to make preparations to seek the seat in southeastern Virginia’s 2nd District.

These half-dozen candidates are competing for the nomination to challenge Nye, a former international development official whose 2008 victory over Republican Rep. Thelma Drake — by a 5 percentage-point margin — came in his first bid for public office.

Taylor, in a video on his campaign Web site, says that “as your congressman, I’ll work to protect traditional values, guard our 2nd Amendment rights, decrease the tax burden for individuals and businesses, and do everything I can to strengthen our free market system.”