One of the races to watch in the November midterm elections will be Virginia's 10th district, which, since being redrawn last December, gives Democrats a slight edge. This edge certainly makes the race competitive, though, especially with the right Republican candidate to go up against Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a Democrat who was first elected in the blue wave of 2018.
Mike Clancy, who describes himself as a technology company executive, lawyer, and community leader, thinks he's that candidate in a crowded field of 11 Republicans. He recently spoke to Townhall about his campaign to become the Republican nominee on May 21 and unseat Wexton come the November 8 election. This includes emphasizing that he is not a career politician, which he says "is the last thing we need in Congress" and "part of the reason for some of the dysfunction in Congress" as a way to set himself apart. Clancy himself would serve for three or four terms if elected.
Not only is Clancy not a career politician, he is a lawyer and the only lawyer in the race. He offered that he brings his constitutional conservative and legal perspective to the race. This is particularly important today when it comes to the First Amendment and how, as he says, "we need to be aggressive against defending the cancel culture, the censorship, the whole equity, identity politics agenda that we're seeing that's infecting the schools, the college campuses, even the work places we're seeing it."
In addition to being a lawyer, Clancy studied cybersecurity policy and served on Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Technology and Cybersecurity Transition Team. Clancy was recently endorsed by Virginia Del. Glenn Davis, a fellow Republican who also served on the transition team.
"Mike has proven that he has both the background and the knowledge to face not just the issues of today, but to be prepared for the unknown challenges of tomorrow. In a time when global security has been shaken to its core, I know I can count on Mike to be a stalwart in Congress ensuring that America and its allies have the resources they need to fight and win on the cyber front," Del. Davis said about his endorsement.
Of particular concern to Clancy and in the district is parental rights when it comes to what he says is "the real battleground over the curriculum," especially when it has involved Critical Race Theory (CRT) inspired lesson plans of equity and identity politics. Similarly, Clancy is quite enthusiastic about school choice, especially for those parents who cannot afford to send their children to private school or do homeschool.
Clancy's concern for his fellow Virginians perhaps came out most of all when it comes to how heavily engaged he is with his community, which he offered is how he differs from his primary opponents. This includes helping the homeless and low-income families with food assistance programs and affordable housing, as well as single mothers facing unplanned pregnancies. On a pro bono legal basis, Clancy shared, he helped with a transition process for mothers to get prenatal care but also to improve her situation so as to be more independent to best care for herself and her child.
When it comes to Rep. Wexton, although she is considered a moderate Democrat, Clancy pointed out that her voting record is on par with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), referring to her as a "co-conspirator with Biden's weak, ineffectual leadership." Clancy was clear that, should he get through the primary and be facing Wexton, "it really is going to be all about her voting record and her support for all of Biden's really bad policies and weak leadership and being linked with Pelosi."
Wexton's own words give credence to Clancy's complaints about her. Earlier this month, shortly after Biden delivered his State of the Union address, the congresswoman sang the president's praises in a way that is far different from reality.
In an interview with local news outlet WUSA9, Wexton acknowledged that inflation is an issue affecting many of her constituents, and even her personally, especially when it comes to rising gas prices or going to the grocery store. Rep. Wexton offered that "lowering those costs is really important to us and I do think that President Biden understands what the American people are going through, and is going to be working to lower those costs."
Polls since then, however, show that the American people are certainly not thrilled with Biden's handling of inflation, gas prices, or the economy. They even blame him and think his policies are making such issues worse. This includes the results of a Fox News poll released last week, as well as an NBC poll released on Sunday.
When asked by WUSA9 to rate Biden's performance on Ukraine, Wexton said Biden was doing a "stellar" job when it comes to "the way he has managed to bring together the NATO alliance and all the countries of the EU against Russia." Wexton also mentioned "the fact that these sanctions are so swift and severe, you know, and unprecedented."
Poll results also show that the American people aren't too confident when it comes to Biden's handling of Ukraine and Russia.
The NBC poll found that, when asked, "how much confidence would you say you have in Joe Biden’s ability to respond to the war between Russia and Ukraine and manage this crisis," 71 percent lacked confidence, including the 27 percent who said they had "just some confidence" and the plurality, at 44 percent, who said they had "very little confidence."
Biden himself has also caused great confusion when it comes to the administration's narrative on sanctions.
As I covered last November, shortly after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) beat former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), while McAuliffe won Wexton's district as it existed at the time, he did so much more narrowly than President Biden won that district over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Clancy shared that the district is 51-49 in favor of Democrats, which he called "highly competitive." While acknowledging "not that it's going to be easy, but very winnable, certainly very winnable."