Rasoul brings campaign against Goodlatte

Democrat Sam Rasoul brought his 6th District campaign against Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte to Lynchburg’s Monument Terrace on Wednesday, telling a dozen local supporters he has an energy plan to make America truly independent of foreign influence.

Interrupted occasionally by the sound of passing trucks, Rasoul proposed switching $18 billion of tax benefits to the oil industry into investments in “green collar” industries and energy research in the United States.

With the 6th District’s location between Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia and James Madison University, the region is situated to be “a pocket of innovation,” Rasoul said.

That could mean 5,000 new jobs in the district in 10 years, he said, and lead to an opportunity “for us to plug in our cars” instead of depending on foreign oil.

Rasoul also proposed upgrading railroad tracks to carry high-speed passenger service, another alternative to energy from oil.

Rasoul, 27, told the small crowd his campaign has been under way for 19 months without any financing from corporate lobbyists, or even Democratic Party political committees.

The shoestring budget was apparent in Wednesday’s sidewalk speech without the aid of microphones. No Lynchburg-area officials participated in the rally.

Afterward, Rasoul said he wasn’t sure how much money was in his campaign’s checking account. “We’ve got enough to do what we need to do,” he said.

As of June 30, when the campaigns last reported their fundraising to the Federal Elections Commission, Rasoul’s campaign listed about $83,000 in cash on hand after raising a total of $190,000. That’s more than Goodlatte’s previous opponents have generated, said Rasoul’s deputy communications director, Carey Markoe.

Goodlatte’s campaign showed he had raised $980,000 and had $1.5 million on hand, much of it funds carried over from previous campaigns.

Goodlatte is seeking his ninth term in the House of Representatives.