I’m a Democrat running in an R+6 District. Here’s why I can win.

by Andrew Sneathern, Democratic candidate for Congress in VA-05

Hi! My name is Andrew Sneathern. I want to take just a moment to introduce myself to the wonderful community here at DailyKos. I am a farm kid, born and raised in the bootheel of Missouri, and worked my way through undergraduate school and later law school. After law school, I moved back to my small town and became the City Attorney and Prosecuting Attorney. I spent a number of years prosecuting everything from traffic tickets to capital murder, but my passion was in prosecuting domestic violence and sexual assault cases.  Now I live in Charlottesville, Virginia, with my wife and two boys. I am running for the United States Congress in the Virginia 5th Congressional District as a proud progressive because the folks in our district deserve someone who will stand up and fight for THEM.

I decided to stand up and run for Congress because I’ve built my career representing the needs of my community—from making sense of zoning permits as the City Attorney of my hometown, to fighting for the rights of domestic violence survivors as a special prosecutor for domestic violence and sexual assault in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. I even started one of the earliest rural drug courts in the country. While it brings me joy to serve others, running for office again wasn’t something I believed would happen until my dear friend and mentor, Mr. Khizr Khan, told me I needed to consider it. When Khizr Khan tells you to consider something, you do it.

The rural communities of our district are being left behind. That needs to stop—now. We as a party cannot shy away from speaking with people just because it’s difficult. We need to bring jobs and opportunity back to rural Virginia. That means standing up to pipelines being built on farmland seized from families who’ve owned it since the founding of our Commonwealth. It means fighting tirelessly to stop the erosion of civil liberties the Trump administration is pursuing against women and minorities. It means confirming our commitment to a government for the people and by the people. We have to bring government back to the people’s control, where THEY choose their politicians, instead of politicians choosing their voters. That’s why I served on board of the non-profit OneVirginia2021, which is dedicated to ending political gerrymandering.

I am the right person to represent these values and to represent the Democratic Party on the ballot in 2018, and I am the best candidate to represent Virginia’s 5th district in the United States House of Representatives. I am unwavering in my commitment to fight for progressive values that will benefit all people in the 5th and I am not afraid to take those values to the communities all across our district and proudly fight for those values.

And we know that even in rural, red-tinged districts like Virginia’s 5th district, unapologetic progressivism can absolutely make serious inroads. Look at our recent House of Delegates elections. In the 5th district alone, candidates like Elizabeth Guzman, Kellen Squire, Angela Lynn, Tracy Carver, Stephanie Cook, and Jamaal Johnston helped increase Democratic performance to unprecedented levels for a state legislative race. Their hard work is proof that it CAN be done—and I’m going to get it done.

But I can’t do it alone- I need your help. Our campaign is, and will always be, grassroots powered. Donate today. Donate to help us build the field infrastructure we need, right now, to win next November. Donate to help us get our progressive message out to the biggest Congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia—bigger than the state of New Jersey!—running from the DC suburbs to the North Carolina border. If we expect to change our country we have to do it everywhere, not just in easy districts. Please help me do just that.