By Matt de Simone
Last November, former Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Governor of Virginia.
Cox is a retired public school teacher who taught in Chesterfield, Va. for most of his 30 years in the educational system. He then successfully ran for a seat in the House of Delegates and eventually became a House speaker.
“The things I did as speaker I feel like Virginians would like,” Cox explained. “We balanced the budget, cut taxes with biggest tax cut in Virginia’s history, and we made Virginia the best state to do business. I am particularly proud that we froze college tuition for the first time in 20 years. If you look at my record as a speaker, I really dealt with a lot of those issues that constituents care about all over the state from Botetourt to Northern Virginia.”
Cox holds in question the leadership in Virginia during the pandemic. He feels one-party control failed the state regarding COVID testing, contact tracing, and processing unemployment claims from individuals out of work due to the lockdown. Currently, Virginia is close to the bottom in national vaccine distribution. Cox feels Virginia has “fallen apart” due to the Democrats in control of the Commonwealth.
“We released a lot of plans,” Cox stated. “I was the very first one back in July to call for a practical way to open schools. As early as January, I pushed for teachers to get vaccinated and make sure we had healthcare providers that could vaccinate in more locations. I’ve released a plan on learning loss and how to catch kids up, which will be very important.”
Cox explained that if he receives the nomination, he will fight to turn the state around in terms of numbers regarding COVID-related issues such as vaccine distribution, testing, and unemployment.
Cox feels his experience in Virginia government sets him apart from his fellow Republican nominees. He fought the abortion “up until birth” bill and argued to maintain gun control laws properly. Cox has also worked closely with the Virginia Wounded Warrior program.
“We need to select someone who is really electable,” Cox said. “I come from the bluest Republican district in the state. It’s only 46 percent Republican and 30 percent minority. The Democrats put about $1.5 million against me. I won that seat by four points.”
Cox thinks Virginia needs a governor willing to reach across the aisle, listen, and get the votes to win.
“Not only does Kirk Cox have the experience, leadership, and vision to be governor, he is the kind of genuine person, listener, and pragmatist that we need to unite the Commonwealth,” Austin stated in a recent Facebook post. “He is a strong conservative who fights for pro-life policies and adamantly defends our second amendment rights.”
For more on Kirk Cox’s campaign to become the governor of Virginia, visit his campaign website kirkcox.com.
