The Bristol Herald-Courier is reporting [1] this morning that three men have stepped forward to challenge freshman Ninth District Congressman Morgan Griffith, one of whom is a familiar face to Ninth District voters. These three Democrats include local foods activist Anthony Flaccavento, Radford University psychology professor Dr. Jim Werth and 2010’s independent challenger Jeremiah Heaton. The Ninth District Democratic Committee chairman acknowledges that additional candidates may seek the party’s nomination before the filing deadline.
Based upon their statements, all three candidates seem well-positioned to assist the Barack Obama if he wins a second term, as all are running on promises of “economic fairness.” Even the most conservative of the candidates, Jeremiah Heaton, blames insufficient regulations on the financial services industry for our current economic situation.
Considering the Republican-lean of the newly redrawn “Fightin’ Ninth” (assuming the redistricting plans receive Justice Department approval), the liberal inclinations of the declared candidates and the general anti-Obama sentiments prevalent in Southwestern Virginia, the Democrats might well find defeating Rep. Griffith to be a difficult task.