Yoga teacher and Moms Demand Action activist Annette Hyde has tossed her hat in the ring to flip Virginia’s House District 30, currently represented by Trump loyalist Nick Freitas. Grassroots PAC VA 7th for Progress is offering $500 in matching funds to support her (click HERE to join in the fun).
Freitas has just failed to oust Abigail Spanberger from her congressional seat (VA-07). (He is pursuing legal options to challenge the result.) This is Freitas’s second major defeat; in 2018, he lost a U.S. Senate primary contest to Confederate-flag-hugging Corey Stewart. Because Freitas looked sensible by comparison, he didn’t get enough scrutiny.
He’s not sensible.
Freitas’s advocacy of the Second Amendment goes far beyond the usual gun rights talk. He regularly encourages anti-state militarism, his rhetoric falling just short of fomenting violence. He speaks openly of wanting to change our culture so that citizens will be ready and willing to take up arms against the government, which he frequently characterizes as operating by force. (Watch here starting at 1:25 and here starting at 10:00; in the latter clip, he alludes to assassinating “tyrants.”)
“So it’s not just about legislation. It is about fostering a culture that respects our Second Amendment rights and truly understands the reason why it’s there in the first place. Because it’s not there for hunting. It’s not there for gun collecting. It’s there so that people can actually defend themselves and so that they can actually fight back against tyranny, whether that tyranny comes from a criminal organization or. . . . a government. And so get them comfortable with it. Because this is not just a legislative battle, it is a cultural one.” —Nick Freitas, Facebook Town Hall, May 5, 2020
Freitas posted this meme (at left) around the time there was a lot of Boogaloo Bois activity in Virginia (their unofficial uniform is Hawaiian shirts). Taken together with his barely veiled threat to Beto O’Rourke, it’s clear that Freitas is — especially in the current climate — far more dangerous than he at first appears.
Freitas’s views on other issues are equally extreme. He has called the ACA a “cancer” but has offered no plan to replace it. He cast the sole vote in either party in the Virginia House against requiring insurers to cover autism after age 10 and was one of four Republicans to vote against capping insulin prices. He calls himself 100% pro-life and has made a stance against reproductive freedom central to his platform, going so far as to spread conspiracy theories about Planned Parenthood.
Annette Hyde has responded to the need for the people of House District 30 to have responsive leadership that focuses on health care and economic interests. She has two grown sons, one with bipolar disorder, and knows firsthand the struggles faced by people with mental health illnesses and those who love them. Hyde was appointed by her county to serve on the Piedmont Workforce Development Board, which works to ensure that there is a qualified workforce for prospective employers and economic development leaders. Learn more about Hyde on her website.
Hyde advocates for:
- Medicare for All
- increased funding for public education
- free community college for high school students with a C average or above
- fast, affordable internet for rural Virginia
- job training and job placement programs
- protections for workers, including overtime pay, sick pay, and paid family leave
- reproductive rights and equal pay for women
- legalization of marijuana and expungement of criminal records for possession of small amounts
- the Virginia Green New Deal
- gun violence prevention
In 2019, Freitas won the district by fewer than 3,700 votes. Since then, Covid-impelled migration from the blue strongholds of Washington, D.C., and the Northern Virginia suburbs has been underway. While Trump has run ever more amok, Freitas has inextricably tied himself to the outgoing president. People in HD–30 are suffering more and more every day, and Freitas has ignored them in their time of need, whingeing instead about the results of a race he lost. (Sound familiar?)
Let’s help Annette Hyde find the voters she needs to give Freitas the boot and flip this district!
CLICK HERE to contribute to VA 7th for Progress’s matching fund drive for Annette Hyde (double your impact!).
If you’d prefer to contribute directly to Annette’s campaign, CLICK HERE.
Follow Annette — and help amplify her message:
Originally posted on Daily Kos and Blue Virginia.
Reposted with permission and minor edits.
