Alison Kiehl Friedman
Alison Kiehl Friedman (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 10th Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 12, 2018.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included Virginia's 10th in its list of battleground districts for 2018.[1] Although incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) won her re-election bid in 2016 by six points, this swing district backed Hillary Clinton (D) over Donald Trump (R) in the 2016 presidential election by 10 points.[2]
Biography
Friedman worked as a State Department senior official under the Obama administration. She also worked in the national security sector on issues relating to transportation infrastructure, airport security, and human rights, and co-founded a nonprofit to combat human trafficking.[3]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 10
Jennifer Wexton defeated incumbent Barbara Comstock in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 10 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jennifer Wexton (D) | 56.1 | 206,356 |
 | Barbara Comstock (R) | 43.7 | 160,841 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 598 | ||
| Total votes: 367,795 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nathan Larson (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Wexton | 41.9 | 22,405 |
 | Alison Kiehl Friedman | 23.0 | 12,283 | |
 | Lindsey Davis Stover | 16.0 | 8,567 | |
 | Dan Helmer | 12.5 | 6,712 | |
 | Paul Pelletier | 3.8 | 2,010 | |
 | Julia Biggins | 2.8 | 1,513 | |
| Total votes: 53,490 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Pomerleano (D)
- Shadi Ayyas (D)
- Julien Modica (D)
- Kimberly Adams (D)
- Deep Sran (D)
- David Hanson (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10
Incumbent Barbara Comstock defeated Shak Hill in the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 10 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Barbara Comstock | 60.7 | 28,287 |
 | Shak Hill | 39.3 | 18,311 | |
| Total votes: 46,598 | |||
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Campaign finance
Democrats
Campaign themes
2018
Campaign website
Friedman's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY Our challenge is to manage the economy so everyone in the 10th district has the opportunity to obtain and keep a good job, get the education and skills they need, and achieve the economic security we deserve. Expanding Opportunity: We spend $670 billion in federal tax incentives each year and the majority of those benefits help the wealthy build wealth and do little to expand opportunities for working families to create wealth through home ownership, starting a business or training for a career. We can fix this. It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do in the new economy. Living Wage: We encourage productivity and growth when hard work pays. Equal Pay for Equal Work and a Truly Inclusive Economy: Women in the 10th district make $.61 for every $1 men make—that’s the worst in Virginia, bad for our families and bad for our economy. Women and people of color are also increasingly owners of business startups; supporting them helps us all. Childcare, family planning, paid family and medical leave, and our physical safety are economic and infrastructure issues. Tax Reform: We can grow our economy by adopting competitive tax rates and providing incentives based on the highest likely return instead of the most influential lobbyist. TRANSPORTATION Traffic on Route 7 and on I-66 leaves our workers and families jammed for hours each week. While we stand still, other world economies are investing in moving people and goods efficiently. Sound infrastructure improves day to day lives and our competitiveness. Roads that Support Workers and Business: It’s not just about the daily commute to D.C.—it’s about expanding innovation. We have a growing network of businesses and commerce within Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties that we can’t afford to suffocate with traffic. Infrastructure that Keeps Pace with Growth: The day we pump the last drop of gasoline into a car is not far off. Driverless cars are already underway. We must prepare for this economic transition with an infrastructure plan that’s suited to the job. Public Transportation Options: Metro is vital to businesses and commuters in Virginia 10. I’ll work to give it a sustainable federal funding base. HEALTH CARE Health care spending in the U.S. remains over 15% of our economy, one of the highest percentages in the developed world. Many other countries deliver lower costs and superior outcomes. While we have made some progress in recent years, we still face important policy imperatives to expand coverage, drive down the costs of prescription drugs and care, and get better results. I believe that any proposal for health care must answer three fundamental questions: How will it impact people? How much will it cost? What will be the process for implementation? Efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act were never about health care. They’ve always been about politics, an explicit statement that the concerns of 32 million Americans (40,000 of whom are Northern Virginians) do not matter. With more people in the gig economy, we need a strong health care system to support the workforce of the future. EDUCATION Virginia 10 is one of the most educated districts in the country, and it’s no coincidence it is also one of the most prosperous. Maintaining our edge requires maintaining our commitment to local schools where everyone receives the education they need. Skills the Market Demands: We need to be nimble in adapting our training programs for changing workforce needs, particularly for those who don’t pursue a 4-year college education. This includes strong support for community colleges. Supporting Teachers: Their hard work is the backbone of education, and I will support them. Rejecting the Privatization of Public Education. Promoting STEM Education: This is an increasing priority as our economy demands more technical jobs and faces growing shortages. Opening the Doors to College: A child with a college savings account is 7x more likely to go to college than a child who doesn’t have an account, even though the average balance in these accounts is less than $500. Every child should grow up believing in the possible. Community Voice: Parents and communities know what they need, and we need to listen to their concerns and hopes. Students at the Center: Decisions in education policy should always prioritize what is in the best interests of students - their aspirations, their growth, their passion, their learning, their future. NATIONAL SECURITY The world is too complex--and America’s role too critical--to govern by tweet and tantrum. In my years at the State Department—so much was in constant flux—and yet the standing of America, and our unique ability to positively influence allies and adversaries alike endured. That fundamental role—enabled by the critical work of so many in Virginia’s 10th District—made us—and the world—safer. America has lost its standing in the world and the President has proven himself incapable of the attention, discipline, and thoughtfulness necessary to lead in these precarious times. Our national security is best served by listening to experts, honoring our commitments, and carefully considering the ramifications of U.S. foreign policy. Adequately Staffing and Supporting Key Foreign Policy Positions: We can ensure a fully staffed State Department and re-commit to honoring the integrity of the intelligence community by implementing meaningful prohibitions on political meddling. The only agenda in our intelligence products should be keeping people safe, not scoring political points. Honoring our Commitments to Our Allies; Holding Interfering Nations Accountable: As sure as we must keep our promises that help to keep the peace, we have to ensure that our elections and borders, redlines and fundamental values are well-protected. Speaking with One, Considered Voice: North Korea, the Paris Agreement, and military personnel decisions are too complex to govern by fits of ego. Americans deserve better. ENVIRONMENT I believe in science. I believe in facts. I get that climate change is real, we are responsible, and we need to be responsible about addressing it. Addressing Reality Rather than Debating It: The ideological debate about climate change is moot. We need real disaster preparedness plans to deal with the consequences of climate change taking place before our eyes. Independence from Dominion Energy: My campaign will neither solicit nor accept contributions from Dominion Energy. Opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Chesapeake Bay Restoration: It is absolutely critical to all of Northern Virginia, and troubling that it was left out of President Trump’s budget. VETERANS We owe more than a debt of gratitude to those who serve. Ensuring Opportunities, Reintegration Services, and Health care: Housing, support for job transitions and training, and health care—including mental health—must be treated as the critical priorities they are. Honoring our Commitments and the Benefits Veterans Earn: I support easing transferability of benefits within families. Military service doesn’t only affect the person deployed; it’s a family sacrifice, and our policies should reflect that. IMMIGRATION Comprehensive immigration reform needs to happen once and for all – reforms that respect people who have lived, worked, and paid taxes in their communities for decades. Barbara Comstock suggested we should be able to track immigrants like we track FedEx packages—that’s just wrong. WOMEN’S HEALTH I support hard-won gains under the Affordable Care Act, and I won’t stop there. Privacy and Fairness: Women should be allowed to make health care decisions with medical professionals and their loved ones. Female medical procedures and medication shouldn’t cost more or be disproportionately excluded from coverage. Reproductive Freedom: I fully support a woman’s right to choose. Planned Parenthood: I believe in the critical services Planned Parenthood provides—on everything from family planning to breast cancer screening. Family and Medical Leave—This matters, not just for women, but all of us. CRIME I have spent my life advocating for the importance of the rule of law and understand that requires law enforcement officials get the tools and training they need to play a constructive role in advancing justice. Helping Local Police Keep Their Communities Safe: Deals between police and Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) hinder local police efforts to address the broader safety concerns of a community. Where people feel unsafe reporting crimes, crime flourishes. Community Policing: I believe in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. When police officers are active members of the communities they’re protecting, everyone is safer. GUN VIOLENCE Mass shootings continue to grab headlines and shatter lives, and yet our government has made almost no effort to prevent another tragedy. In the daily headlines, we often miss the other side of gun violence—the regular and now predictable death toll of shooting crimes across the country. We can take meaningful steps to make a difference: Closing the Gun Show Loophole: We have the technology to take this safety measure at minimum inconvenience to purchasers. Banning Military-Style Assault Weapons. Facts: We can reverse the current restriction that prohibits NIH from researching gun violence and prevention as a public health crisis. Opposing Reciprocity: We can’t allow people who would not qualify for a concealed carry permit in Virginia to bring their weapons into the Commonwealth. See: Charlottesville. HUMAN TRAFFICKING I’m running for Congress because I won’t abide abuses of power. Building on my time as a diplomat at the State Department, I’ll make sure we continue to champion freedom by fighting human trafficking at home and abroad. Fully Funding the National Human Trafficking Hotline: Human trafficking doesn’t only happen elsewhere. It happens here in our communities and we need to support community resources to deal with it. Survivor-Led Interventions: We must continue to support the importance of survivor-led policy formation and implementation. Survivors of these crimes know best how they happen and how to stop them. They must be included, respected, and followed. Commercial Sex Prohibitions: All U.S. Government workers should be prohibited from purchasing commercial sex as a condition of employment. Innovations in Federal Government Contracting: The U.S. Government is the largest supply chain in the world. If we buy and contract responsibly, we shift global norms away from human trafficking and towards dignity. CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM Over the years, sincere attempts to curb the influence of money in elections have been thwarted by loopholes. Consequently, money spent in each successive election sets an all-time high. Reverse Citizens United: I strongly support reversing Citizens United, demanding transparency for unreported secret political contributions and reforming our campaign finance system. This will not only shine a light on who is paying to influence campaigns, but will also help block illegal foreign funds from tainting our process. Stop Special Interests: The Citizens United decision has opened the floodgates to even more special interest influence. And a class of billionaire oligarchs, many extreme ideologues, or corporate players with a narrow and self-interested agenda have played an outsized role in funding campaigns. I’ll fight back against outside money in campaigns. Gerrymandering: Virginia has been described as one of the most gerrymandered states in America. Both parties have drawn district lines for the interest of partisan advantage instead of democratic representation. I’ll strongly back measures to restore fair representation to our democracy. OPIOIDS A Comprehensive Approach to the Opioid Crisis: We have to address the continuum of responsibility for this epidemic, with pharmaceutical companies and MS13 alike. This crisis is best addressed by meaningful treatment, training for medical personnel and first responders, and law enforcement. We can’t arrest our way out of this epidemic, and narrowing our focus to police activity only hurts our ability to comprehensively address community needs.[4] |
” |
| —Alison for Congress[5] | ||
Recent news
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See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Virginia's 10th Congressional District election, 2018
- Virginia's 10th Congressional District
Footnotes
- ↑ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "One Year Out: Offensive Battlefield Brimming With Opport," November 9, 2017
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Presidential Election Results by Congressional District," accessed January 11, 2018
- ↑ Alison for Virginia, "Meet Alison," accessed March 12, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Alison for Virginia, "Principles," accessed May 28, 2018
