Democrat DeVaughan facing off against Griffith in November

DeVaughan, recently appointed as chair of the state Council on Environmental Justice, announced her candidacy for the party nomination in January. The nomination was confirmed this week after the district’s Democratic caucus received no other nominations and picked her.

A 12-year Wise County resident, UVA Wise graduate and community activist, DeVaughan said her campaign platform will be based on helping the district’s youth and improving the region’s access to health services and education.

DeVaughan said she had already filed campaign petition signatures with the state Department of Elections before her nomination, and that necessary forms to put her on district locality ballots should be done in the next few days.

DeVaughan said access to transportation and health services in the Ninth needs improvement, while she wants to see better access to community colleges and job training programs.

“The voting record of the incumbent speaks for itself,” said DeVaughan. “Voting down party line is not what’s best for the people of the Ninth.”

While DeVaughan is a Ninth District resident, Griffith was drawn out of the Ninth following this year’s redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts. In December, he said the U.S. Constitution’s Article I Section 2 allows him to live outside the district while running for Congress.

Griffith had issued at least one campaign email after DeVaughan’s January announcement, attacking her as a community activist.

“We’re pleased that Taysha DeVaughan made the tough decision to step up,” Ninth District Democratic Committee chair Mary Lynn Tate said Thursday. “We know she values our goal to protect democracy and fight for the rights of workers including our union workers.

“We know she would have voted for the federal infrastructure bill, essential for the future of Southwest Virginia,” said Tate. “We know she would have voted for the baby formula supplement bill to feed our children, not provide tax breaks for the rich.”

Griffith did vote Wednesday against the Biden administration’s $28 million Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act, which passed the House and awaits Senate action, according to www.congress.gov.

In November, Griffith voted against the administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which passed Congress and became law.

“As we look to the future, we must preserve our traditional values in the Ninth,” said DeVaughan. “We must embrace the youth of our communities and what they deserve, all the while protecting our aging population’s Social Security, Medicare and retirement benefits.”