State senator Amanda Chase was in Christiansburg Friday as the centerpiece of an old-fashioned tailgating party and campaign rally at Fat Back Soul Shack. She is barnstorming across the state in her campaign to be Virginia’s next governor.
Virginia state senator Amanda Chase, the first-ever female Republican candidate for governor in the commonwealth’s history, came to Christiansburg Friday for a campaign rally at which she decried what the Democrats were doing in Richmond and promised that if she were elected governor, she would put Virginia back on the path to greatness again.
Sen. Chase’s appearance at Fat Back Soul Shack was part of a barnstorming tour that will take her into every county in Virginia. She represents Virginia’s 11th Senatorial District, which includes Amelia County, the city of Colonial Heights and part of Chesterfield County.
Sen. Chase graduated from Virginia Tech in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business, majoring in corporate finance and business management. From 2010 to 2014, she ran a campaign management firm that sought to help grassroots conservatives run for office. Her clients included 2010 U.S. Senate Candidate Jamie Radtke, Congressman Randy Forbes (VA-4), 2013 Republican Lt. Governor Candidate Susan Stimpson, 2014 Republican Congressional Candidate Dave Brat (VA-7) and the Women for Ken PAC.
Sen. Chase was elected to the Virginia state senate in the general election of November 2015 by defeating Democrat Wayne Powell by a wide margin. She assumed office on Jan. 13, 2016.
She drew attention for her support of the Second Amendment when in January 2019 she openly carried a .38 caliber firearm in a custom holster while presenting bills to a senate committee. She said “it’s a deterrent for over-exuberant folks” in explaining why she brought the pistol with her into the meeting.
Gubernatorial candidate Amanda Chase pauses with the organizers of her appearance Friday in Christiansburg. Pictured (L to R) are Jody Pyles, Leah Wall, Michael Poff, Sen. Chase, Marie March and Alecia Vaught.
Sen. Chase has also opposed removing the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, describing it as a “cowardly capitulation to the looters and domestic terrorists,” and has said removing Confederate statues in general is an “overt effort to erase all white history.”
The evening’s program began with prayer from Vernon Dalton, pastor of the New Beginnings House of God in Floyd. Corey Cox, a staff member at Fat Back, played the National Anthem on electric guitar. The Pledge of Allegiance followed before Sen. Chase took the stage.
The theme of her speech before a receptive audience was change.
“I love Virginia,” she said, “and I can’t take it anymore. That’s why I’m running for governor. Our creed as Republicans includes no raising of taxes and no executive orders, no forcing us to do something.
“In the U.S., we don’t kneel to the flag,” the senator said. “I believe that with God all changes are possible, and we need to put God back in our public schools.” She vowed to overhaul the state’s public education system to allow parents to choose there their children go to school, whether it’s home schooling or a private Christian school.
“I’m pro-choice,” Sen. Chase told the audience. “We need to listen to the parents and not the teachers union. For parents who choose to take their children out of the public schools, I will take that state portion of the education budget and give it to the parents.”
Sen. Chase promised to vote to limit the powers of the governor, “so we will never again have a tyrant ruling over us.
“I will totally reopen our churches,” she said. “Our governor has made it legal to visit a liquor store but a crime to go to church. The only one not essential [in this state] is the governor.”
Sen. Chase said her goal on her barnstorming tour was to visit every county in the state over the next 18 months. ‘My campaign is run by the people,” she said. “There’s no big staff. We will go wherever we’re invited.” She used the appearance in Christiansburg as an example of a local event being organized by local people who invited her to appear.
“As the governor of Virginia, I will reverse the path Governor Northam has put us on,” the senator promised. “There is no Democrat party anymore. It’s been hijacked by the Socialists.
“I am going to win,” Sen. Chase declared. “I will now back down. I will double down. It may not seem like it, but there are honest, decent people in Northern Virginia who share our values. I am going to give you hope. Together, we will make Virginia great again.”
