FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Virginia Beach, VA, September 21, 2016) — Progressive House VA, a new state political action committee (PAC), was announced today with the mission of fielding and supporting Democratic candidates in each of the 100 districts that comprise Virginia’s House of Delegates.
Executive Committee President Josh Stanfield explained that in the state’s 2015 election cycle, 71 delegates were uncontested in their bid for office. “It’s bad for democracy in our state when voters don’t have any options when they go to the polls. If the Democratic Party is under represented in the House, then it’s largely been our own fault. Progressive House VA is going to make sure that every single voter in Virginia has a choice next November.” Stanfield also noted that every statewide office in Virginia is held by a Democrat, but the Party’s presence in the House is barely large enough to sustain a veto. That mismatch, he believes, represents an enormous opportunity.
Progressive House VA describes itself as a grassroots organization composed of citizen activists rather than ‘party professionals’ from Washington, D.C. or Richmond. “I am a life-long resident of this area,” said Executive Director Tom Brock of Virginia Beach.
“Even though we’ve organized as a PAC, we are basically ordinary citizens who just decided to get involved, and we believe we can make a significant difference,” said Brock. He added the group expects to work closely with the party’s existing structure but will act autonomously and maintain its own leadership.
The group seeks to correct the imbalance in the current House membership by harnessing the energy and commitment of voters—particularly young voters—who became engaged in the political process during the 2016 primary season. “We are Democrats, but we also recognize that the party’s existing structure has not leveraged the enthusiasm that’s out there in the trenches.
Meaningful change begins at the bottom and works its way up. We’ll let the party work from the top down. We believe that in Virginia, the real opportunity for meaningful impact lies in the House,” Brock added.
Stanfield noted the group is generally following the grassroots model suggested by Sen. Bernie Sanders after the primaries, but with an important caveat: “We’re not interested in undertaking any primary challenges against incumbent Democrats. Our sole focus is on making sure that there’s a Democratic alternative in each and every House race.”
The group’s website is www.progressivehouseva.com
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Contact:
Tom Brock: tbrock@progressivehouseva.com
Josh Stanfield: jstanfield@progressivehouseva.com