Which Democratic Candidate Will Battle to Flip the 5th?
Democrats Roger Dean Huffstetler, Dr. Cameron Webb, Claire Russo and John Lesinski are on a path to seek the Democratic nomination for the 5th District Congressional seat to be decided by a primary June 23. The Democratic Party primary will determine which candidate will run in the general election November 3.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still looming large in Virginia, the four candidates are adapting to the new order of Social D (social distancing) by shifting their campaign approaches to using more virtual platforms. With the June 23 primary just weeks away and with more phased-in state openings, the candidates may still not be able to attend house parties or participate in live candidate forums. But read along for details to learn more about these candidates!
Meanwhile, drama ensures in the Republican Party. Incumbent Denver Riggleman (R) will try to fight off advances of former Liberty University athletics director Bob Good. The Republicans picked June 13 for a convention instead of a primary to choose their party nominee.
Riggleman is at the top of a list of 10 most vulnerable House members, according to Roll Call. “He became vulnerable when the 5th District’s Republican committee voted in November to have a nominating convention instead of a primary. The move could give extra weight to votes from religious conservatives on the committee who tried to censure the freshman lawmaker after he officiated a gay wedding. The nomination process has been thrown into question by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Roll Call. “Riggleman’s campaign was pushing to revert to a primary as a safer alternative. The party committee was planning a drive-thru convention in the parking lot of the church where Good happens to worship.”
Nationally, Republicans need a net gain of 18 seats to flip the House, and their path to the majority runs through the 30 Democratic-held districts that backed President Donald Trump in 2016. Republicans were confident Democrats in these seats sealed their fates when they voted to impeach Trump. That hope may be dissolving. Good for Dems! We may yet see another Blue Wave and Flip the 5th!
As the geographically largest congressional district in Virginia, the 5th spans a variety of localities with different constituent concerns. The 5th stretches vertically across the state from the North Carolina border in the south to nearly the Maryland border in the north. Our Nelson County straddles the center.
Though the Nelson County Democratic Committee doesn’t endorse any one Democratic candidate during primary elections, we do try to get the word out on the contenders. Once we have a nominee we will fully support that candidate in the general election on November 3.
Which Democratic Candidate Will Battle to Flip the 5th?
Learn about the four Democratic candidates for whom we will cast our ballot in the June 23 Primary (in order of ballot placement):
Roger Dean (RD) Huffstetler -- He and his family live in Charlottesville. Emily, his wife, works as an OB-GYN at Martha Jefferson Hospital. He was born in North Carolina and raised in a blue-collar family. Huffstetler graduated from the University of West Georgia, served our country as a U.S. Marine where he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Upon his return, he attended Harvard Business School with the help of the GI Bill and worked in the private sector, eventually helping to lead a technology startup.
He also spent time working as chief of staff for former U.S. presidential candidate and Rep. Seth Mouton, D-Mass. Huffstetler sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 5th Congressional District of Virginia in 2018.
Dr. Cameron Webb -- He grew up in Spotsylvania, Va. After graduating from UVA and getting his medical and law degrees, Webb was tapped by President Obama for the White House Fellowship. He served on the White House Health Care Team and also worked on President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, where he helped tackle issues in education, workforce development and criminal justice reform.
Now, a practicing physician, Webb treats patients as a general internist, teaches students, and serves as the Director of Health Policy and Equity at UVA’s School of Medicine. His wife, Leigh-Ann, is an ER doctor who grew up in Appomattox County. They reside in Albemarle County where they raise their two children, Avery and Lennox.
Claire Russo -- Reared in Virginia, Russo resides in Earlysville with her three children, Genevieve, Adelle, and Orion. Her husband Josh is an Army Special Forces Officer. She joined the Marine Corps at 23 and served as an Intelligence Officer serving in the First Marine Expeditionary Force and the First Marine Air Wing where she was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq.
After the Marines, Russo worked as a civilian with the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan. She served as a counter insurgency adviser to the infantry. Following her work with the Army, she served on General Petraeus’s counter insurgency advisory team where she evaluated the training and employment of female engagement teams and their support of special operations forces in Afghanistan.
After returning home, Claire worked as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow studying the role of women in combat and conflicts.
Learn more
John Lesinski – Lesinski is the grandson of Polish immigrants. He graduated from California’s Santa Clara University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Commerce. Lesinski served four years on active duty with the Marine Corps and 22 more years in the Marine Reserves. Lesinski was called back to active duty in January 2003 in support of the Global War on Terror. During Operation Iraqi Freedom he served as the USMC representative in a Joint Intelligence Activity Task Force. While in the Reserve, he earned a Master's of Science in Strategic Intelligence. He retired as a full colonel.
Lesinski has been a commercial real estate broker and later began his own company. He has helped to bring major companies to the I-81 Corridor helping to create hundreds of jobs for the area.
Governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam had appointed Lesinski to organizations serving veterans. Lesinski serves on numerous other boards.
DON’T MISS
5th CD Candidate Forum, June 7, 3 – 4:30 pm
Broadcast by UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and moderated by Batten School professor Andy Pennock.
The forum will be held as a Zoom webinar:
Zoom webinar:
Or, link to the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy YouTube channel
Link to the Event page on the Batten School’s website