Former FEMA program analyst Pete Barlow is entering the race for the Sixth District seat in Congress, with a campaign kickoff for his run at the Democratic Party nomination set for Aug. 20 in Weyers Cave.
“I never fancied myself a politician. Congress unleashed disastrous policies on our region, and Congress is where we must fight,” Barlow says in a quote on the landing page for Pete-Barlow.com, which makes clear that he is taking direct aim at our feckless MAGA congressman, Ben Cline.
Pete Barlow campaign kickoff
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 4:30 p.m.
Valley Pike Farm Market, Weyers Cave
RSVP Here: forms.gle/jLEa5cJq1QbFhYDU6
“Ben Cline is nothing but a cheerleader. He says yes to every policy Trump wants. Never questioning. Never fighting for his constituents. Never defending the Constitution. Cline has become a lapdog of the White House. He doesn’t even try to represent the Valley. And he’s a coward. He refuses to face the voters in public meetings and town halls,” reads a quote on the Barlow website.
And I mean, he’s not wrong.
Cline voted for the Big Ugly Bill that will cut trillions from Medicaid and SNAP, while increasing the national debt by $4.5 trillion over the next decade, and giving millionaires and billionaires massive tax cuts.
The Trump tariffs that Cline has yet to stand up to – all it would take to get the tariffs off the table would be congressional action – are raising our prices at the grocery store, and if you have kids, you already know what they’re doing to retail prices, from your back-to-school shopping.
Cline isn’t pushing back on Trump’s power grabs with moves to place federal troops on the ground in Los Angeles and the nation’s capital, and he hasn’t had a word to say about the Epstein files, giving Trump a free pass on his name reportedly being all over the documents, which is no surprise, given that Trump and Epstein, history’s most prolific child rapist, were best friends for 30 years.
ICYMI
- Gene Zitver: Ben Cline goes along with Donald Trump’s tariff fantasy
- Waynesboro provides free school meals, which Ben Cline tried to block
- Ben Cline poses with Donald Trump for photo, dutifully decries ‘woke’
- MAGA Ben Cline fully on board with Trump/National Guard move in LA
- MAGA Congressman Ben Cline tries to explain away vote to slash Medicare, Medicaid
Barlow brings an impressive resume to his run for the congressional seat.
The Rockingham County native served a full deployment in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, where he taught high school biology, developed the region’s first aquaculture program, and led the planting of 3,500 mangrove trees for coastal protection.
Returning Stateside, Barlow worked for six years with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, negotiating and drafting federal policies in partnership with organizations ranging from state wildlife agencies to national advocacy groups.
He then went to work in 2020 with FEMA, where he was on the frontlines of some of America’s most challenging disasters: oil spills, California wildfires, Puerto Rico’s hurricane recovery, and humanitarian crises in Haiti.
Barlow managed a team involved in a $41 billion program restoring infrastructure after natural disasters.
“Last month, I left my job at FEMA and took everything I know about how Washington works. Now I’m going to put it to work for rural voters,” Barlow said in a statement on Facebook. “I know a disaster when I see one. The most enduring disasters here aren’t natural. They’re caused by Congress.
“Ben Cline and Donald Trump turned their backs on the place we call home,” Barlow said. “I live here. I know what we’re up against, and I’m ready to fight for our future. It’s time for Congress to invest in the real economy folks depend on and protect the natural resources we share.”