The ink is barely dry on the paperwork, but Andy Schmookler isn’t wasting any time making the most out of his campaign’s latest accomplishment.
“In the weeks and months ahead, I will be increasing my public challenges of Bob Goodlatte,” Schmookler wrote to his supporters in an email announcing he had secured the Democratic nomination in the Sixth Congressional District.
“I’ll challenge Goodlatte to point to some occasions when he’s stood up for average Americans and not for the rich and powerful interests that bankroll him and the Republican Party,” Schmookler wrote.
Last week the Schmookler campaign submitted 234 petitions containing 2,328 signatures to qualify for the Democratic primary scheduled for June 12. Congressional candidates must submit a minimum of 1000 signatures from individuals registered to vote in the congressional district to appear on a primary ballot.
Tuesday Linda Wyatt, the chair of the Sixth Congressional District Democratic Committee, informed the State Board of Elections that Schmookler had submitted enough valid signatures. Under Virginia law, if only one candidate qualifies for a party primary, that candidate automatically receives the party’s nomination and the primary is canceled.
Schmookler began exploring a campaign for U.S. Congress over a year ago, officially launching his campaign last June. An award-winning author, teacher, and talk radio host, Schmookler describes himself as a lifelong seeker of truth. He is running to draw attention to “the political crisis of our times.”
“On the political right there has arisen a force like nothing seen before at center stage in American politics,” Schmookler says. “Its success with its pervasive dishonesty threatens to make meaningless what our founders called ‘the consent of the governed.’
“This force must be defeated, and the weapon of choice is the truth.”
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