For nearly two decades, Virginia’s 5th District has been deep red—a Democrat has not won here since 2008. After last year’s redistricting process, the district is considered competitive, but remains Republican-leaning, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Democrat Josh Throneburg, an ordained minister and small business owner, believes he has what it takes to finally flip the district to blue, and make hardcore conservative incumbent Bob Good a one-term representative.
In 2019, Throneburg—along with his wife, Minhee, and their two daughters, Agnes, 7, and Lucy, 13—moved to Charlottesville from Massachusetts so Lucy, who has dyslexia, could attend a school that better fit her learning needs. Since last year, he and Minhee have owned Nooks & Crannies, an eco-friendly cleaning business.
Throneburg’s fear for his daughters’ futures pushed him to run for Congress.
“I think the trajectory of a lot of things in our country is unsettling—whether that’s our democracy, our climate, racism, and sexism,” says Throneburg. “As the father of two young girls, and both of them are young women of color, you want to make sure that they’re going to have a future that is happy and healthy … I don’t have confidence right now that their future looks that way.”
Throneburg touts his ability to bring people together and work on everyone’s behalf. He believes his years in ministry will help him “have compassion in all kinds of circumstances” in Congress.
“In the church, there’s lots of different people who come from a lot of different backgrounds. … You don’t care about their politics or anything like that. You just try to serve them as well as you can,” he says. “My opponent has made it very clear that he’s not interested in working with Democrats.”
As someone who grew up on a farm and as a Republican, Throneburg, who is from a small town in Illinois, has worked throughout his campaign to reach out to and discuss bipartisan issues with voters who may have never considered supporting a Democrat.
“I’m hoping that there are enough independent and Republican voters who are tired of the toxicity in our political culture … and are looking for someone who will get stuff done,” he adds. “Mr. Good has brought no projects, no money back into the district, and has passed no bills.”
Addressing the climate crisis is among Throneburg’s top priorities. The federal government needs to not only significantly invest in renewable energy sources but also incentivize people to use fossil fuel alternatives, he says. He also wants to improve public transportation, create a progressive corporate tax on carbon emissions, and bring more green jobs to the 5th District and the entire state.
Additionally, Throneburg would prioritize bringing down inflation and getting broadband into every home in the district during his first few months in office.
Throughout his term, Throneburg says he would tackle a variety of pressing issues, most notably the affordable housing crisis and gun violence. He believes Congress should create more programs giving first-time homebuyers access to capital, and restrict large corporations from buying up the majority of the housing stock—“that prices local buyers out, and for renters it really increases the amount they have to pay,” he says. Particularly in the 5th District’s rural areas, he also vows to secure housing and business grants, and upgrade critical infrastructure.
To prevent shootings, “we should have common sense gun safety—that includes simple things like locking up your firearm and ammunition, universal background checks, [and] red flag laws,” says Throneburg. He also supports funding community-based violence intervention and prevention programs.
In the wake of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests, Throneburg hopes to address the racial wealth gap, mass incarceration, disproportionate sentencing and use of force, and other racial justice issues. He wants to increase investments in minority communities, by, among other things, offering low or no-interest loans to entrepreneurs of color, as well as federally legalize marijuana.
“We have so many police officers in this country, and many of them do a wonderful job, but there have also been issues,” says Throneburg. We need to “[make] sure that our police departments are adequately funded and trained … to give them the resources they need to more equally dispose of that justice.”
In response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Throneburg supports codifying abortion rights into federal law. And to address the lack of affordable health care across the country, “I’m someone who would support a universal health-care solution,” he says.
To help solve the student debt crisis, Throneburg wants to make community college free for everyone, and expand eligibility for Pell Grants and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, among other reforms. He also promises to push for pay raises for K-12 teachers and funding for school infrastructure upgrades.
As LGBTQ+ rights are attacked in Virginia under Governor Glenn Youngkin, Throneburg says he would work to pass the Equality Act, which would expand federal civil rights laws to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, credit, jury service, public places, and federally funded programs.
Good and Throneburg will square off for the first time in a forum at Hampden-Sydney College on Wednesday, October 26, at 7pm, after Good denied or ignored multiple debate requests from his Democratic challenger.
“I think Mr. Good was trying to make this as late and unseen as possible,” says Throneburg. “But certainly late is better than never.”
Read part two of C-VILLE’s election coverage here.