A small crowd gathered in the shade of a picnic shelter at Crozet Park near Charlottesville to hear from a man who’d like to represent them in Congress – but from the moment he spoke it seemed people were not quite ready for that election.
“Morning everybody!” the candidate called out.
The crowd continued to chatter until someone finally insisted they quiet down.
58-year-old Paul Riley ran for a seat in the U.S. House two years ago but lost in the Democratic primary to Gloria Witt. Now he’s back, having learned an important political lesson.
“Start early and raise more money,” he explained with a chuckle.
Riley is retired military, having served 20 years as an army intelligence officer. He and his family were stationed all over the country and the world – but after living in Iraq, Panama, England and Germany, Riley said he and his wife decided to move home and give their three kids some stability.
He was employed by the National Ground Intelligence Center north of Charlottesville and after retiring from that job became a defense contractor.
Riley is a lifelong Democrat.
“I remember my parents voting for Jimmy Carter. The Democratic Party is the umbrella that I associate myself with for the values that they bring and the caring that they bring for other people, and that really was instilled in me in the army too. You don’t leave your battle buddies behind.”
He hunts, fishes and believes he can connect with rural voters.
“I worked on a dairy farm and milked cows. That was my first job as a young man, so I do understand the pain of being a farmer – seeing what my boss went through as a farmer. I think that will resonate.”
In the crowd, Paul Sullivan who recently retired from work with the Veterans Administration in D.C. He studied political science in college and says it’s not impossible that the 5th congressional district would elect a Democrat. It happened in 2008, and he says his county has sometimes rejected Republicans.
“Nelson County voted for moderate Senator and Democrat Jim Webb. This is a swing area. It’s not guaranteed red.”
Also from Nelson, 78-year-old Mike Tabony who says the incumbent – John McGuire and other Trump allies have gone too far.
“These radical Republicans -- they’re throwing the Constitution under the bus. They’re throwing the Bill of Rights under the bus, and anybody who thinks all these detention camps are just for illegal immigrants – they’re not really looking at things.”
And he contends Riley will appeal to many voters in the district.
“He’s got that military background that would work well, and I hate to put it this way, but it’s true. In the fifth district it helps if you’re a white male.”
Which begs the question: can this candidate excite Black and Latino voters?
“I was a Spanish linguist in the army. I grew up with a lot of Puerto Ricans in the army, so I understand the whole Latin dynamic," Riley says. "We do need to reach the Black vote in this district. When I was out for Juneteenth last year, almost to a person every male I talked to said, I don’t vote.”
An early supporter, Paul Sullivan thinks Riley might not appeal to people of color, but he could still win their vote.
“There are two reasons why people go vote. The first is they don’t like the person in office now. The incumbent isn’t even bothering to show up at local events, and he’s voting against healthcare and against veterans’ benefits.”
He says Riley is smart to start early – letting the public get to know him before the mudslinging starts, collecting campaign cash from Democrats ready to commit now and perhaps discouraging others from getting into a primary race that could be costly and damaging for the party.
