Virginia District 7 Republican candidate for Congress pledges to join House Freedom Caucus
One of the top Republican candidates for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District has pledged his fealty to the House Freedom Caucus if elected to office in November.
Cameron Hamilton made his pledge to join the U.S. House Republicans' far-right wing during a podcast interview and on X, formerly Twitter, in March.
“I’ve pledged to join the House Freedom Caucus in Congress because I believe in standing up for the best interests of the American people, even when it means pushing back on members of our own party,” Hamilton wrote on his campaign website.
The House Freedom Caucus, currently chaired by Virginia Rep. Bob Good, has gained a reputation in the 118th Congress as an ultraconservative obstacle for passing bills. Its members have attempted to halt legislation as Republicans maintain power in the U.S. House of Representatives with an increasingly slim majority.
Hamilton has received endorsements from several sitting Freedom Caucus members, including Good, and the caucuses former chairman Rep. Scott Perry, R – Pennsylvania.
Virginia's 7th Congressional District is currently represented by Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a moderate Democrat who announced she would not seek re-election to Congress in late 2023. Instead she plans to run for governor of the commonwealth in 2025. After her announcement more than a dozen Democratic and Republican candidates entered the race.
Caucus members causing chaos
Members of the group of 37 ultraconservative Republicans have rankled their party and have at times thrown the 118th Congress into chaos and have stonewalled federal funding bills to the brink of government shut down.
The House Freedom Caucus as a body did not introduce the motion to vacate Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his leadership role, but four of the eight Republican House members who voted with Democrats to oust the former Speaker are members of the caucus. Those four members include the current caucus chair, Rep. Bob Good, along with Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona, and Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana.
McCarthy vacated his role as House Speaker on October 3 and Speaker Mike Johnson was not elected to the position until October 25, effectively halting any federal legislative action for the greater part of a month.
In March, the House Freedom Caucus encouraged their fellow Republicans to vote against the $1.2 trillion federal funding bill needed to avert a sustained government shutdown.
“Is there anything that some Republicans won’t do to keep this government open? Why are we in a rush to keep this government open that is so harming the American people by thevery policies which they are suffering under?” Caucus chair Good said in a statement in March.
Is this an effective method of legislating?
When asked via email if he views the caucus’ method of legislating as effective, Hamilton did not answer the question directly and instead issued the following statement:
“The progressive agenda of the Biden administration is destroying our country, while Republicans fail to meaningfully defeat that agenda or provide substantive solutions. My message resonates across Virginia’s 7th because voters want leadership that will prioritize the security of our southern border and advocate for sound fiscal policy to combat the cost-of-living crisis Biden has created. That’s the kind of representative I’m pledging to be.”
Though it appears the caucus’ influence may be waning, Hamilton has not backed down from his pledge to join the group if he wins the party primary in June and the election in November.
A former Navy Seal, Hamilton has raised the second largest sum in donations among Republican candidates for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District race, according to the FEC.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Va. Republican candidate for Congress pledges to join Freedom Caucus
