Democrat Patrick Lewis, a lawyer and businessman, has initiated a 2010 U.S. House campaign to challenge long-entrenched Virginia Republican Rep. Frank R. Wolf.

Lewis will try to make the case that it is time for a change. But he has picked a tough target in Wolf, the 15-term incumbent from the state’s 10th District and a politically dominant figure for three decades in the northern Virginia suburbs and exurbs of Washington, D.C.

“Now more than ever, northern Virginia needs real leadership to tackle the problems facing our community and our country,” Lewis said in a press release that announced his formation of an “exploratory” committee, a move that is usually a precursor to a formal campaign.

He said that he looked forward “to putting my experience of military service, job creation, and business management to work for the people of northern Virginia.”