Newly elected Fifth District Rep. Virginia Foxx is busy getting ready to set up an office in Washington, D.C., but she also plans to maintain her close ties at home. Foxx reflected on her long campaign path that carried her from decided underdog in a crowded Republican primary race to a decisive victory in Tuesday’s General Election. Foxx became only the third woman from the state ever elected to Congress and is the first Watauga resident to serve. Foxx said being a female from the rural mountains posed some disadvantages during the campaign, but said her legislative style during her 10 years as a state senator remained the same, with a focus on working hard and staying in touch with constituents. |
Foxx first began contemplating a Congressional run when long-time Fifth District Rep. Richard Burr announced in April 2003, that he would be running for a U.S. Senate seat. Foxx said she had never considered running for federal office before.
“People from different parts of the district approached me and thought I should run because I was the most experienced person in the district,” she said. “I talked with Lyons Gray, who ran for the seat previously, and he’d decided not to run. It looked possible for someone outside Forsyth County to win.”
Foxx discussed the idea with her husband Tom Foxx, who served as her campaign manager. They decided her experience in the state legislature and her strong commitment to public service provided an opportunity.
“What drives me is the opportunity to help other people,” she said. “I think that’s why people in the district encouraged me to run, that’s what my focus was, and that’s what people needed in Congress.”
Foxx was aware that other people would be fighting for the seat, as often happens when seats open up that were held by people often viewed as unbeatable.
“I honestly didn’t realize that many would run,” she said. “The biggest challenge was being from a smaller county in the district. It’s already a mountain to climb.”
Seven other Republican candidates filed, along with three Democrats. The Republican field featured several millionaires and the controversial Vernon Robinson, who was skilled at fund raising and drew from a national base of support. Foxx’s lone advantage, at least on paper, was that she had represented 35 percent of the Fifth District as a state senator. Once the campaign coffers began to fill in what was then billed as the most expensive Congressional race in history, Foxx again found support from the same people who had encouraged her to run in the first place.
“We knew the dynamic of the race would change (because of spending),” she said. “We thought it would take about $500,000 to win. When candidates came in with personal money to put in, we couldn’t keep up with that. Fortunately for us, people who gave small amounts before gave more, and it broadened our base. That never happened in this district before. Most of our money came from within the district. When they give you money and also vote for you, that’s strong support.”
Foxx said she is at peace with what became at times an acrimonious Republican primary. She survived a run-off with Robinson after finishing a close second in the crowded primary race. After that, her path seemed a little easier because of the district’s reputation as a Republican stronghold, but Foxx had warned the party at the time not to take victory for granted.
Foxx continued to fulfill her state senate responsibilities while campaigning, and also kept up her habit of traveling all over the district and maintaining contact with constituents.
“My willingness to go all over the district made a big difference,” she said. “I did that for 10 years, made it part of my business to go where people are.”
She said people are cynical about the electoral process, which she noticed during her first run for state office in 1994. “People said, ‘I’ll never see you after the election.’ I made a mental note to go back and see those people. In ‘off years,’ too, not just the years I was running again. I wanted them to know me as a person and feel comfortable with me. Folks know I’m just down to earth and part of the community.
“Over 10 years in the senate, I remained that way. That’s what people want in a representative. Some of the people in the race didn’t have that same approach and same personality.”
Foxx also turned to her faith during the contest and felt she was guided through the campaign. “I did a lot of praying during the campaign and felt I was doing what God intended me to do. Every day in the campaign, something happened that was an answer to a prayer. I said to God, ‘I have lots of energy and a commitment to serve — please put me where I can use my talents the best.’”
Foxx said her senatorial job was divided evenly between voting and committee work, reading and ancillary activities, and constituent work, though she suspects there may be an even greater percentage of constituent work in Congress. She gets about 1,000 pages a week of reading material, and had a reputation for a near-perfect attendance record in the General Assembly.
“When constituents come to you with a problem, sometimes it’s an individual, personal problem that’s a symptom of something that’s not right in government,” she said. She’s currently pressing the N.C. Department of Transportation on highway safety problems after local residents brought them to her attention.
After a decade in the Democratic-controlled North Carolina Senate, Foxx is looking forward to entering a workplace where her party controls both assemblies and the White House. “You can go to leadership with ideas and not simply have them dismissed because you’re the wrong party,” she said.
Foxx plans to commute from her Foscoe home to Washington, D.C. Her husband will remain here but she expects occasional weekend visits from her family while in the nation’s capitol.
She anticipates having a room or small apartment in Washington. “I don’t need ostentatious surroundings,” she said. “I go early to the office and stay late.”
Foxx reflected on her uphill battle to get to Capitol Hill. “Being a woman (politician) is a double-edged sword,” she said. “Some will vote for a woman of either party who runs, generally because women have had to work harder to get there. They often, but not always, pay more attention to their constituents. “Other people told me they absolutely wouldn’t vote for me because I’m a woman. The experts say being a woman in a Republican primary is a detriment, but is a slight advantage in the General Election. Being from a rural area is a definite disadvantage because elections are decided by large numbers of voters.”
Foxx hopes her congressional success will inspire others to public service, especially woman.
“This race showed you can win without being the wealthiest candidate,” she said. “We need average, working people in elected office. Be involved, and do it to be of service.”
• Scott Nicholson may be contacted at nicholson@wataugademocrat.com.