In the fifth congressional district of Virginia, where Farmville is located, Democrat Leslie Cockburn and Republican Denver Riggleman are running for office in the November 2018 congressional election. Neither candidate has previously run for the office.
A rally for Cockburn was held in Blackwell Ballroom in Ruffner Hall on Saturday, Sept. 22. Around 150 people attended. The rally was organized by local Democrats and was open to and attended by both students and locals.
“The rally today was organized by our local leadership and our incredible staff and field team,” said Cockburn. “The reason for doing it at this point is we’re doing rallies all over the district.”
Per Louise Bruce, her campaign manager, this is one of many rallies and events Cockburn has had since her campaign started in July 2017.
“Leslie officially kicked off July 15 of 2017,” said Bruce. “It’s been going more than a year now ... We’ve had hundreds by this point. They vary in size and where they are but we’ve had meet-and-greets everywhere in this district.”
In addition to general meetings of voters, there were several speakers from the campaign trail and local community, according to Cockburn.
“What we’ll be covering is what’s at stake in this election why people have to come out and vote,” Cockburn said. “In September the political season really gets going. We’re now in the thick of it.”
Speakers included the presidents of the College Democrats at Longwood University and the Young Democrats of Hampden-Sydney College.
Kyle Stone, history senior and president of the College Democrats at Longwood, spoke about the organization of the rally and its impact on the community.
“Something like this is nice to bring like-minded people together,” Stone said. “People hopefully come out and are inspired to vote in November.”
According to Stone there were several Longwood students present in the audience.
“Right now I see about 70 (people). We expect 150,” Stone said. “I have seen five for certain that are Longwood students.”
Per Stewart Cheney, a senior government major at Hampden-Sydney College and president of the Young Democrats at Hampden-Sydney College, five students from the school attended.
“It’s great, it’s an awesome networking opportunity,” Cheney said. “It’s cool to meet so many people from the district.”
The event’s presence on campus was well received by students.
“I think she’s fantastic ... I’m really happy with the outcome (of the rally),” Maria G. Reynoso, political science senior at Longwood University and fellow of Cockburn said. “People are having conversations and seem really happy to have her here.”
Per Stone, the College Democrats at Longwood University helped with the event.
“It’s kind of awesome we’re having this on campus, it’s really cool but if we could have more events on campus that’d be great,” Stone said.
Per Cockburn, the election is very close at this time.
“This could be a very, very close race,” Cockburn said. “Some of the people who call races say we’re now neck and neck with my opponent.”
Per Cockburn, the biggest issue in the fifth district of Virginia is healthcare access and affordability.
“Healthcare is the number one issue in the fifth district by far,” Cockburn said.
Cockburn cited concerns regarding the repeal of the Affordable Care Act as one of the biggest issues in her campaign and in the fifth district. Per Cockburn's website, Cockburn wished to preserve the Affordable Care Act. Per the official website of her opponent, Denver Riggleman, Riggleman will seek to repeal the ACA.
Cockburn has not previously run for office and was a journalist for 35 years before deciding to run for office, per Cockburn.
“There was organizations that I was working with that you’re not allowed to run office,” Cockburn said.
Cockburn cited the 2016 presidential election as a major reason for running for office.
“As soon as Mr. Trump became president and as soon as he started calling journalists the enemy of the people I really felt I had to stand up and do something,” Cockburn said. “I have a lot of skills, because I’ve covered the world and because I’ve covered six wars, that are extremely useful.”
Per Bruce, Cockburn has not accepted money from corporate political action committees.
“Leslie (Cockburn), she has raised nearly two million dollars ... Last quarter she raised triple that of her Republican opponent and her average donation was 14 dollar(s),” Bruce said.
Cockburn and her Republican opponent, Denver Riggleman, have had two debates so far, per nbc29.com. Another debate will be held between Cockburn and Riggleman on Sept. 28 at the University of Virginia, a fourth at Piedmont Virginia Community college on Oct. 8 and a final debate on Oct. 22.
According to the Virginia Department of Elections website, the deadline to register to vote is Oct. 15 and the election is Nov. 6. Absentee ballots must be requested by Oct. 30.
Follow The Rotunda for more coverage of the election.
Democrat Leslie Cockburn held a rally on Saturday, Sept. 22 in Blackwell Hall in preparation for the upcoming November congressional election.
