by Rachel Levy
My name is Rachel Levy and I am the new (and first!) Executive Director of New Rural Virginia (NRVA). NRVA is a 501(c)(4) established in 2021. Our goal was to fill a niche in Virginia politics and policy where the visions and policies of Democrats largely overlooked, while those of Republicans often ran counter to the actual needs of rural Virginians. We began with a policy-focused newsletter, The Rural Angle. However, we are now expanding our mission to engage directly in policy advocacy that is both readily understandable by rural voters and that meaningfully represents their interests. As we grow, we will seek to strengthen rural communities in Virginia through education, advocacy, mobilization, and better political accountability when such policies are lacking.
For May, we have published a special Democratic Primary Election edition of our newsletter. Our team sent surveys to all 2024 Democratic candidates (primary and those without a primary) who qualified for the ballot in the seven congressional districts in Virginia with at least 10-15% rural areas (i.e., CD-01, CD-04, CD-05, CD-06, CD-07, CD-09, and CD-10), as well as to Virginia’s candidate for the U.S. Senate. We are not making endorsements in this cycle, but are publishing the responses as a public service.
For each candidate who responded, we included a link to their campaign website, a head shot, and the responses to three basic questions:
1. Tell us about yourself, specifically about how you’re qualified to represent the rural parts of the district where you’re running?
2. What are the 1 to 3 biggest problems or needs in the rural areas of your district?
3. How do you propose to address these problems/needs in Congress?
The responses are published in numerical order, by Congressional District, and then in alphabetical order, by last name. We will also be publishing the responses on a special page on our website and on our social media channels. Where there is no primary, we have noted as such at the top of the section.
Don’t forget that Early Voting started May 3, 2024, with Primary Election Day taking place on June 18th, 2024. To confirm which Congressional District you live in, go here. To learn more about when and how to vote in Virginia, go here.
More information on New Rural Virginia, including our mission, how to support us, and how to sign up for our email list can be found on our website NewRuralVa.org or via our various other channels. You can support the work of our organization with a donation here.
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