Powers addresses Floyd crowd ahead of primaries
“I promise you that I am going to be an advocate and fighter in this district... I will fight the chaos, the corruption, and the increase of costs,” she said.
Joy Powers, one of three Democratic candidates running to unseat Morgan Griffith in Virginia’s 9th Congressional District, was in Floyd on Sunday, July 19, for a public meet and greet and a shared meal at Hotel Floyd. Powers, a fourth generation cattle farmer and small business owner from Bedford, addressed a crowd of about 40.
“I promise you that I am going to be an advocate and fighter in this district... I will fight the chaos, the corruption, and the increase of costs,” she said.
Powers, whose website can be found here, highlighted the district’s recent losses of health facilities, affordability issues, and spoke of her intention to work across the aisle. “We’ve got 16 days left in this primary, and we are going to activate every Democrat that we can. We’re excited about Republicans picking up Democratic ballots for the first time,” Powers said. She suggested that voters don’t have to identify as Democrat and can ask for the ballot that her name is on, as some of her supporters have done.
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(Left) Attendees gather in the conference room at Hotel Floyd to hear from Powers, who is from Bedford. (Right) Floyd voters line up to meet Powers after her speech. Photos by Colleen Redman
“We’re not going to shame our neighbors for how they voted, but we have to admit they were lied to. It’s about bringing people together. Everybody’s hurting. Let’s make a bigger bridge,” she said, adding, “We also have the data sites fight on our hands, and we have to stand up strong on that. I’m tired of politicians telling me that we have to have data centers because we’re in a race with China. China has less data centers in their entire country than we have in Virginia.” (Source)
During an interactive question and answer period with the audience, a question on campaign contributions was posed. Referring to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal, Powers noted that she receives no money from AIPAC, a major American pro-Israel lobbying group. She expressed her disappointment in the Democrats who voted against an amendment that would cut military funding to Israel. “I have accepted no PAC money of any sort,” she said, remarking that a little over 90% of her funding comes from within the district.
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When asked about her views on ICE, she stated that it needs to be abolished. “What I find really egregious is that Republicans are advocating for a federal authority to come into our communities and take control from our law enforcement,” she said. “I have friends who were on the ground in Minnesota and watched deputies who tried to intervene be arrested on the spot.”
Powers predicted that if Democrats take back the House it will take time to put the right measures in place. “There are certain things that we’ve lost that we won’t get back. That’s the brutal honesty,” she said. She went on to state that an essential first thing Democrats could do would be to reinstate some of our oversight and regulatory agencies, to reinvest in FEMA, and put professionals and scientists back in their positions.
“I keep seeing filled rooms like this across the district,” Powers said. “My goal is not to want every Democrat proud that I serve them. I actually want every person in this district, regardless of partisan allegiance, to know that I am proud to serve them.”
Some attendees headed to the courthouse to cast an early vote after the event. Early voting continues Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, July 25, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, July 26, from 11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Aug. 1 is the last day of early voting. Primary Election Day voting at your regular precinct is Aug. 4.
Learn more about candidates here, and stay tuned to Floyd Times for more information.
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