By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Sept. 10 — If there’s one thing that Jennifer Lewis would like to fix, it’s the divisiveness that plagues our country.
“…the hate, and this feeling of …oh, if you’re a Trumper or you’re a Democrat, then I can’t like you,” Lewis said. “If we lose our ability to look beyond our politics, then we lose our country. It impacts everything else. So, we need strong leaders that can bring people together.”
The Democratic congressional candidate will once again challenge Republican incumbent Ben Cline for the 6th District seat in the House of Representatives, held for many years by now-retired Republican Bob Goodlatte.
“This man continuously votes against the interests of the people in this room,” Lewis said of Cline when she visited Page County Democrats in April at their annual banquet. “Even though he looks like the nice guy next door, don’t be fooled…I for one, would love to know where he was on Jan. 6.”
In 2020, Lewis captured 40.2 percent of the vote — not a bad showing historically in a Republican stronghold through the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. Two years ago, the GOP drew less than 60 percent of the vote in the 6th congressional district for the first time in many years.
On Saturday, Lewis stumped her way through the Valley, as she appeared at an antique car show in Broadway during the morning, and two meet-and-greets in Luray that afternoon.
“The fact that Jennifer Lewis has spent so much time here today is a sign that Democrats running for congress are very focused on issues central to our local community,” said Skip Halpern, chairman of the Page County Democratic Committee. “Those issues include public health, mental health, public education, public safety, funding rural broadband, healthcare in general, voting rights and worker’s rights.”
A few dozen supporters gathered at the meet-and-greet at the Democrat headquarters in Downtown Luray to raise their own issues with the congressional hopeful.
“I love coming to Page County…everyone is so welcoming,” Lewis said on Saturday morning standing just off Main Street. “I love coming out to talk with people and asking them ‘What are the issues in your area?'”
While the Democrat lists a number of issues that she supports, the mental health workers sees a need in her industry that could impact many facets of our communities from law enforcement to healthcare.
“I see the impacts of people struggling with mental health, and the fact that we don’t have the resources and people to deal with it,” Lewis said. “One of the reasons it’s so bad is because of the stigma. If we all start talking about that more openly, we might see something get done.”
Lewis serves as a hospital liaison working with several mental health facilities across Virginia, including Western State Hospital in Staunton and Central State Hospital in Petersburg. She sees first-hand the implications on the larger community if mental health is not addressed — and visa versa.
“Someone really can’t focus on mental health issues when they are just trying to survive…they can’t focus on mental health when they need housing,” Lewis said.
The congressional candidate grew up in the Shenandoah Valley on a small, family-owned dairy farm. Her visit to Luray on Saturday afternoon continued from the Democrats’ HQ in Downtown up Main Street and just past the hospital to the West Luray Rec Center to see the accomplishments that have been made there.
“People in Page County should support Jennifer Lewis because she, unlike her opponent, stands for policies that will benefit this community in real, concrete ways,” Halpern said on Saturday. “Take just [a few] examples…Mr. Cline voted against capping insulin costs for diabetics, and during last spring’s baby formula shortage voted against funding to address that…and he also voted against legislation that just resulted in the $1 million grant that supported Page Memorial Hospital.”
Halpern listed “affordable, accessible healthcare, including mental health” as the most important issue facing the residents of Page County.
Lewis touts education and environmental issues among her top concerns as well.
Lewis will face-off with Cline for the 6th congressional district seat on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 8. Voters must register by Monday, Oct. 17. In-person voting begins Friday, Sept. 23. All absentee voting requests must be received by the Page County registrar by Friday, Oct. 28.
For more information about the Page County Democratic Committee,
visit pagecountydems.org or visit their Facebook page.
For more information on Jennifer Lewis visit www.FriendsOfJenniferLewis.com
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I am impressed with the platform of Jennifer Lewis, she is a strong supporter of democracy unlike the incumbent.
Competition is essential to voter choices especially when candidates represent ideology. Religion and politics are a corruption of the First Amendment. It’s as though we learned nothing from the royalty in Britain that used religion to ensure governance.
Exactly James. My Jamestown Virginia Company and later my Welsh Quaker ancestors came here because they were fed up with the beheadings and banishments of tge 17th and 18th centuries as the English Royals flipped back and forth from Catholicism to Protestantism. Today’s Christian Nationalists claim that the US was set up as a “Christian Nation” when in fact the “Founding Fathers” were a mixture of deists (Jefferson, Madison, etc.), a Quaker/Unitarian (B. Franklin) and generally skeptical Age of Enlightenment thinkers about fairness (George Washington attended EACH type of military denomination service in turns during the Revolution) all of whom who studiously avoided “establishment” of a national religion and enshrined that in the First Amendment.
The founders weren’t against religion. They were against any religion being used as a government like in early England, where the King or Pope or whatever had the last word, and the people had to obey without their consent.
John Locke came up with the idea that the government should govern with the consent of the governed.
A constitutional monarchy began with fits and starts in England, gradually limiting the power of the monarch.
The British monarchy today is akin to a national flag…that the people revere and want to keep.
It appears that he was in the Capitol building. “I for one would love to know where Ben Cline was on Jan 6.”
https://cline.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-cline-support-objections-presidential-electors-january-6
Love how the DEMONcrats bloviate about their support for democracy when they were fuming in 2016 that Trump cheated and was an “illegitimate President”.
Trump won in 2016. He just didn’t win the popular vote. People didn’t want him as president. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/08/09/an-examination-of-the-2016-electorate-based-on-validated-voters/
Let’s not forget that Ben Cline still supports that the 2020 Presidential election was rigged, and still won’t certify that Biden won fairly. He also joined the Texas AG’s ridiculous lawsuit not to certify the election. He also publicly stated that he heard of massive voter fraud in VA–never proven.
And then there’s that flip-flop where he said he supported protecting women from violent husbands and boyfriends, and then voted on behalf of his benefactors at the NRA to still allow abusive boyfriends and husbands to continue to buy guns in case they wanted to finish their abuses.
Finally, to paraphrase President Biden’s recent comments about the many accomplishments of his administration’s successes and those by the Democrats in Congress:
“And let’s be clear. In this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people, and EVERY SINGLE Republican in Congress sided with the special interests in this vote–every single one–including voting against–
* Lowering prescription drug prices
* Lowering healthcare costs
* Fairer taxes
* Tackling the climate crisis
* Lowering energy costs. and
* Creating good-paying jobs.”
And, being the good Republican he is, Ben Cline voted also AGINST all these positive accomplishments for the American people.
We need Jennifer Lewis badly.
Republicans voted against DEMONcrat bills not the issues. Republican bills addressing the same things that were better were trashed by the DEMONcrats so the Republicans wouldn’t get credit.