My name is Ken Mitchell, and I reside in Rockingham County. Early voting for this November’s election has already begun, voters are heading to the polls, and campaign signs are on the sides of streets and in front of our homes. This election is important for a number of reasons. When I ran for Congress in Virginia’s Sixth District in 2024, I had the distinct privilege of shaking hands with Virginians from all manner of different backgrounds and beliefs. Though I’m focused right now on supporting good candidates running for office across the Shenandoah Valley in 2025, I have continued to meet, greet, and share a seat with a whole host of neighbors and friends as I work towards running again for Congress in the 2026 midterms.
Let me tell you why I am focused now on Virginia in 2025. I know the importance of these state races, and I know that I can help support these candidates. This election matters to every Virginian in the Sixth Congressional District, the whole of Virginia, the whole of the country, and the rest of the wide world. This election matters because of the people that I have met and what I have heard them say.
I am writing to you while families in the Sixth District are reeling from headlines and change after disastrous change, wondering what will happen to their ability to access, receive, and pay for healthcare. Augusta Health has had to consolidate three offices into other practices as a direct result of “The Big Beautiful Bill” that our elected congressman eagerly signed. Cuts to Medicaid and the rising costs of premiums have some families facing hard choices.
I have had the privilege to get to know a resident of the Sixth District who has voiced her fears and worries that her family will be one of many to have to make these hard choices. This neighbor, now a friend of mine, is a small business owner who pays for her family’s plan through the Marketplace. Her premium may go up by as much as 75 percent in the near future. She has two young children, the youngest was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the beginning of this calendar year. His medically necessary services aren’t fully covered by insurance, so his healthcare is supplemented with Medicaid. The implications of losing this coverage and paying higher premiums are catastrophic. This family will struggle, at a time when the struggle is already great. We cannot allow this to stand. Our government needs to serve people like my friend and her family, not work against them.
Her story, sadly, is not an isolated one. It’s one that I’ve heard repeated many times, in many different ways, as I’ve traveled across the Sixth District. Behind each story are individuals, children, spouses, and loved ones, each facing new and unique challenges; some frightening, all unwelcome.
So, in 2025, we vote. We volunteer. We shake hands, have hard conversations, we listen, and we bring change to Virginia in November. And then, when we go back to the ballot boxes in 2026, we give the Sixth District of Virginia the congressional representation that it deserves. Representation that cares about healthcare, and families, and affordability. We vote so that our current representative can no longer inflict harm onto our friends, our families, and our neighbors.
We must vote.
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