DAY FIFTY-SIX - TJ COX

Oct 24

Day Fifty-six | TJ Cox | CA-21
797 Sawbuck Patriots | $8726 pledged today | $529,349 donated overall

Team:

FIRST, A HEADS UP: On Tuesday, I’m going to ask you to make all the rest of the daily contributions you've committed to, all at once, so campaigns have the money we're sending a week ahead of election day. We’ll have a list, links will be easily accessible, I'll make it simple, I promise. But do have a conversation with your credit card to prepare it, so it isn’t nervous and scared when the time comes.

THE SITUATION: CA-21. California’s most competitive Congressional district. Some of Bakersfield, all of Coalinga, Delano, and Hanford. Yeah, it’s rural, and it’s HUGE. Fun fact: cow-litigator and terrible human being Devin Nunes once represented the fightin’ 21st until it was redistricted. Until two years ago, it had been represented by an R since 1981. It’s 71% Latinx, and under 20% white.

THE OPPOSITION: David Valadao. Valadao attended college but didn’t graduate; he joined his family’s long-standing local dairy farm business instead. Using his personal popularity, and his family’s name and reputation as a major employer, he ran for and won a seat in the California Assembly in 2010. in 2012, seeing a newly redistricted opportunity in the Congressional district where he lived, he ran for Congress, and won.

He served in Congress somewhat quietly, finally getting knocked off by our candidate two years ago – and he’s back for a rematch. While he was in Congress, he voted with Donald Trump 97.9% of the time. As Joe Biden would say, "come ON, man!" – if you’re THAT close, just go for the full hundred percent, huh?

While still in Congress in 2018, Valadao got some bad news: he was named in a couple lawsuits against the dairy farm in which he was a partner. The lawsuits: minor stuff. (Actually, I'm kidding. They were because he had defaulting on $9M in loans, and failed to pay his suppliers.) The dairy was then seized by a bank, which sold it in turn to pay off the debts its owners had incurred. Making things more fun for our hero David V., he was then sued in 2019 for denying his employees breaks, and failing to pay both the minimum wage and overtime. He settled the suit by agreeing to pay his employees $325,000. Which might have been a satisfactory outcome, but it wasn’t; Valadao then declared bankruptcy and by doing so weaseled out of having to pay up. Bless his heart. And now he wants to go back to Congress! (And the last time he was in Congress, he was anti-choice, opposed regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, opposed gun control legislation, supported repeal of the ACA, and so on.)

OUR CANDIDATE: TJ Cox. BA in chemical engineering, and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. He’s an entrepreneur, starting two agriculture businesses. He’s multi-racial – son of a mom from the Philippines and a dad from China, and one of only thirteen Asian members of the House. To be fair to Valadao (because we try to do that fair thing), Cox has had a couple self-inflicted financial stumbles as well – the IRS hit him with a tax lien for unpaid income tax, and a company where he was on the Board didn’t timely pay some of its employees. But now, to be fair to TJ Cox, unlike Valadao, he paid what he owed, and didn’t declare bankruptcy to detach himself from his obligations.

In his term in Congress, TJ has voted as a moderate D would be expected to, which is exactly what this district calls for. Importantly, and strategically, two years ago, the Cox/Valadao race was the last congressional race called in the nation – with Valadao finally conceding he’d lost in early December. Again, this year, it’s nationally rated as a top-five-closest race, both the DCCC and the NRCC are focusing on this district with intent, and it could truly go either way. However, Cox is a far superior choice to Valadao, and both sides are dug in – but THE MATH SAYS TJ CAN WIN, and we're being strategic about our investments. Let's click the link together, shall we?

Sawbuck Patriots, it's go time: click HERE to send $10 (or more!) to support TJ's campaign. Our collective effort will invest $8726 today.

Thank you!

- Alex / www.sawbuckpatriots.com

Alex Clemens

DAY FIFTY-SIX - TJ COX

Sawbuck Patriots, it's go time: click HERE to send $10 (or more!) to support TJ's campaign. Our collective effort will invest $8726 today.

DAY FIFTY-SEVEN - BEN McADAMS

DAY FIFTY-FIVE - JACKIE GORDON

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