Friday, June 19, 2009
Democrat announces bid to challenge Morgan Griffith
Ginny Weisz describes herself as a moderate who cares about health care and education.
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roanoke.com/politics
With a familiar call for change, Ginny Weisz formally announced her candidacy for the House of Delegates on Thursday near the steps of the Roanoke County Courthouse in Salem.
The Democrat from Bent Mountain will challenge House Majority Leader Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, for the 8th District seat, which includes Salem and part of Roanoke County.
In brief remarks to about 25 people, Weisz offered herself as a political moderate who cares about health care and education. She said in an interview after her remarks that she also owns a gun.
"I'm no liberal Democrat," she said after the announcement.
Weisz also stressed a desire to build a consensus in the House that was missing under Griffith. "My opponent has never failed to obstruct the progress of" recent Democratic governors, she said.
When faced with a pointed question about legislation in Richmond, the political newcomer replied that her campaign was still getting under way.
To many political observers, the race for a seat Griffith has handily defended since he won it in 1993 would seem like a tough one. The district often leans to the right. And Griffith's strongest opposition came in 2003, when his challenger took 38 percent of the vote.
But Gena Doyle, chair of the Salem Democratic Committee, said her candidate is well-connected with the district.
"It's always a challenge when you take on an incumbent," Doyle said. "But I don't think that should deter us."
Thursday's announcement opened with endorsements from a pair of Roanoke County Democrats. Gerald Holt, the sheriff in the county, and Steve McGraw, clerk of the county's circuit court, said they were backing a candidate they had known for years.
"I think the people are restless over the economy and unemployment," Holt said. "I think people are ready for a change."
Weisz is a career health care worker and assistant professor of nursing at Radford University who also works in holistic medicine. The mother of three grown daughters said she has supported the campaigns of local and national Democrats.
A few blocks from the courthouse on Thursday, Griffith could be found in his Main Street office.
"I don't know a lot about her," he said. He takes the challenge seriously, he added, and would work to boost turnout in November. But a general truth about the 8th District remains.
"My district trends to vote heavy Republican," Griffith said.
