‘Rapp Resist’ joins Indivisible movement
Coalition of groups support Cockburn, oppose Senate candidate Stewart
A group of political activists dubbing themselves “Rapp Resist” is joining a regional Indivisible movement in endorsing Democrat Leslie Cockburn for Congress.
“We join thousands of members of the Indivisible movement and other groups working to make sure Leslie is victorious in November,” the group says in a news release distributed by Rappahannock resident Eve Brooks. “We join these Indivisible groups in this endorsement and pledge to be a strong progressive grassroots presence.” The groups are Indivisible Charlottesville, Indivisible Madison, Fauquier Indivisible, Indivisible Nelson, Crozet Act, Indivisible Southside, Forward Fluvanna and Indivisible Lynchburg.
Cockburn, a former journalist, is a resident of Rappahannock County. Her challenger is Republican Denver Riggleman, a Charlottesville area spirits distiller.
“There is a lot to be excited about in this campaign of our neighbor, Leslie Cockburn, to represent the 5th Congressional District in Congress,” the release states. “We are excited about her passionate values. We are excited by Leslie’s commitment to ensuring affordable health care for all Americans. We are with her in her defense of our environment and her fight against pipelines. We are with her in her efforts to maintain reproductive rights for all women. We support her work to reduce gun violence. Finally, we believe in the civil rights of all, and join her in fighting the cruelty of the Trump administration in separating children from immigrant families . . .
“Republican Denver Riggleman, who opposes Leslie, has pledged to join the Freedom Caucus. There is little to separate his wing of the Republican Party from [President] Trump.”
Rapp Resist says it is “shocked that the Republican opposition” is led by Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart, who the group alleges “stands with the NeoNazi hate mongering of the far-right. His is a long history of bigotry — and an echo of Trump.”
Stewart has rejected such charges. In a video posted on Facebook following the violence in Charlottesville he says, “we must hunt down and find the criminals who perpetrated these horrible crimes.”
An international trade attorney serving his fourth term as the at-large chair of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, Stewart aims to unseat Virginia Junior Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s pick in 2016 to be vice president, in the November election.