Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox (R), Running Scared In Reelection Campaign, Runs Phony TV Ad

Colonial Heights, Virginia—Speaker Kirk Cox is worried about his reelection chances and has gone up with a phony TV ad claiming he stands with the community he represents. But his voting record proves otherwise.

“Speaker Cox has a long record of voting against the interests of the people he supposedly represents. This TV ad is an obvious attempt to hide that, but voters can see right through it,” Anna Scholl, Executive Director of Progress Virginia said. “When Kirk Cox votes in Richmond, he votes for special interests and the wealthy few who donate to his campaign, not the people who sent him there in the first place. When voters go to the ballot box in November, they’ll vote for someone they can trust to vote the right way on issues they care about like health care, gun violence prevention, and education.”

Background:

Cox stonewalled Medicaid Expansion for years, even though 2,200 voters in his own district would benefit. [The Commonwealth Institute; March 28, 2017]

Republicans like Speaker Cox refused to support Medicaid Expansion for years, despite the fact that it would allow an additional 400,000 Virginians access to health care. After Republicans nearly lost their majority in the 2017 elections, it became clear that they would have to pass something, Cox worked to ensure it would include work requirements, a provision that introduces unnecessary bureaucratic procedures designed to ensure that even people who qualify aren’t able to access health insurance.

Cox won’t take action to save lives and prevent gun violence [WTKR; July 10, 2019]

Speaker Cox also refuses to take action on gun violence prevention, preferring to prioritize the interests of the corporate gun lobby. Instead of allowing his caucus to vote on common sense bills that would save lives, he adjourned the gun violence prevention special session after just 90 minutes without voting on anything.

Cox doesn’t support abortion access [Washington Post; January 31, 2019]

Speaker Cox does not support abortion access. He was at the center of a controversy earlier this year over a straight forward bill that would have repealed onerous restrictions on abortion access like mandatory ultrasounds and 24 hour waiting periods.

Cox Doesn’t Support the LGBTQ Community [Richmond Times Dispatch; February 15, 2019]

Speaker Cox let bills that would protect the LGBTQ community from housing and employment discrimination die without a hearing. These bills would have ensured that members of the LGBTQ community couldn’t be fired or denied housing simply for who they love, and Cox made sure no one could even vote on them.

Cox’s record is clear. He does not hold our values or represent our community, and voters can see right through his TV ad claiming otherwise.