Just in looking at Kimberly Anne Tucker and her resume, already I like this race. If the woman had any more of “the right stuff”, she’d be an astronaut. And she’s a breath of fresh air for a district that has traditionally voted Republican, both in state as well as nationally. But there’s a new sheriff in town.
I was serious in the photo caption when I said Kimberly was the right woman in the right place at the right time. She has a trifecta of perfect issues for this race, all are topical in the current political atmosphere, and they aren’t just talking points, she is personally, intimately familiar with each of them, and knows of what she speaks.
Kimberly is a retired educator, having been both a teacher as well as an Assistant Principal. And it may not surprise you that she has some strong feelings about the subject. And she is brooking no nonsense from strutting little bling covered popinjays like Betsy DeVos. If she is elected, she is adamant about keeping public money in the public schools, and private companies will have to ride directly over her to take over the education of Virginia children.
Kimberly has a service daily double going for her as well. She is both a military wife, as well as a military mother. As such, she will be a fierce advocate to protect and expand the rights and programs for all military families in Virginia. Think that first person perspective might have an impact in a district which touches Norfolk and its environs, with its large naval base?
And most importantly, Kimberly has a very personal interest and experience in the number one hot button topic in the country right now. Kimberly is a cancer survivor, and she knows and understands firsthand how fortunate she was to have the availability of quality healthcare through the entire process. She also realizes that her outcome could very easily have been radically different if the Republican vision for “healthcare for the worthy” had been the law. Not only will she be a fierce advocate for affordable, quality healthcare, she can speak of it with a sincerity and authority that her opponent can only dream of.
Kimberly is a first time candidate, as was her opponent in the primary. but all you need to know about Kimberly is the fact that she and her primary opponent went out and helped each other to gather enough signatures to get them both on the ballot. People are sick and tired of mainstream, career politicians? You can’t get much farther outside the political mainstream than knocking on doors to try to help get your opponent into the ring with you. Kimberly won 68% of the primary vote.
Her opponent in November is named Barry Knight. Barry (Don’t call me Manilow) is standard issue, run of the mill GOP kitty litter box filler. He has been suckling at the public teat since 2007, so he should be full by now. But he is also a perfect example of what I spoke of in my diary yesterday. After being elected in 2007, he ran unopposed in 2009, 2011, and only had a green party opponent in 2015. This guy hasn’t had to actually campaign since 2007, and with the current political attitude in this country, he had better get a can of 3 in 1 oil real quick, because this is not a year to be rusty.
People keep saying how sick they are of the current toxic political atmosphere. Well, total political outsiders are popping up like mushrooms in the Democratic party to give them a fresh alternative. But even fresh alternatives need to get their message out and across. To learn more about Kimberly, you can find her campaign website HERE. To get Kimberly off of the ground and flying towards November, you can volunteer HERE. According to the research data I found, Knight raised $103K for the 2009 cycle while running unopposed. To go grassroots and help Kimberly to offset this, you can donate HERE.
Yeah, it’s always fun to cuff Trump around for being such an ignorant pig (Kimberly’s opponent is actually a hog farmer, how’s that for poetic justice), but the best way to smite him in the chops is to start electing Democratic majorities in the states, give him an omen of things to come in one more year. And Virginia, and Kimberly Anne Tucker are great places to start.