Liberal Women of Chesterfield County

In 2016, poet and writer Kim Drew Wright[3] founded Liberal Women of Chesterfield County.[4][5] A graduate in journalism from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, she worked in the field of advertising. She lives with her husband and three children in the 7th Congressional District of Virginia.[5][1] She began and continues to be the administrator of the Facebook page for LWCC, co-ordinating the group's many meetings and events even while undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.[6][7] Chesterfield County, where the Liberal Women of Chesterfield County group of activists is centered, is a populous suburb of the City of Richmond. Since the LWCC group is in the 7th Congressional District, a rural-suburban mix that stretches from Culpeper County to Nottoway County, and since the group membership grew to over 4000 people including some outside the district, it is sometimes called "Liberal Women of Chesterfield County - and Beyond."

LWCC engages in community volunteerism beyond politics. LWCC members have stocked the high school food go-home pantries of needy teens of Chesterfield County and teamed up with local organization "Sylvia Sisters" to ensure that needy girls get feminine hygiene products both locally and in Uganda. LWCC advocacy groups ensure that members are given needed supplies, and they volunteer hours to public schools. They also participated in a highway clean-up project,"Adopt a Highway". The organization Liberal Women of Chesterfield County is creating a national guide, Liberal Women United, a website for branches of similarly-minded women around the United States.

For the mid-term 2018 elections, LWCC focused on the race between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA operative,[8][9] and Rep. Dave Brat (R) which became one of the most competitive in the nation.[10] Committees independent of the candidates lavished "$2.2 million on TV and social media ads in the 7th Congressional District, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project."[11] An incident of fake signs purporting to be for Spanberger and another incident of the U.S. Post Office sending information that should not have been released occurred in relation to the Spanberger-Brat contest.[12] Brat's campaign issued a defamatory ad against Spanberger calling a school where she briefly taught English "Terror High."[13][14] The Washington Post reported that the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), aired the anti-Spanberger ad that centered on her brief work as a substitute teacher at an Islamic school in Alexandria, Virginia.

LWCC members met frequently to write and mail post cards to voters in the 7th Congressional District of Virginia in support of favored candidates throughout the Commonwealth. In 2018's mid-term elections, candidates supported by this program were Scott Miles, Democrat running for Chesterfield County Commonwealth's Attorney; Democratic Senator, Tim Kaine running for re-election; and Abigail Spanberger, Democrat and former CIA officer, opposing in her first run for political office incumbent Dave Brat, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district since 2014, when he defeated Eric Cantor in the Republican primary. The energetic post card campaign, along with door-to-door canvassing, proved successful. Scott Miles, Abigail Spanberger, and Tim Kaine were all elected.

After Donald Trump's election in 2016, a group of liberal women in Chesterfield County, Virginia, a traditionally conservative part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, joined together as activists to work for change. CNN's Bill Weir reported on their progress.[15] Members of LWCC support many other active liberal progressive groups addressing issues such as the Equal Rights Amendment. LWCC is not a voting bloc, and efforts are underway to consider and promote the ERA as a non-partisan issue.

Some current and past local and national candidates supported by LWCC members include Abigail Spanberger, Jenefer Hughes,[16] Scott Miles,[17] Wayne Powell,[18] Jack Trammell, Ralph Northam, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Mark Herring, Barack Obama, and Tim Kaine.

Democrat Jenefer Hughes challenged incumbent Republican Timothy McPeters in a special election to be Chesterfield Commissioner of Revenue and won by 55% of the vote. “Chesterfield County has changed. Chesterfield County is very balanced between Democrats and Republicans. And my election actually reflects that,” Hughes said. “It’s the first step to getting fair representation to 2019, when all the local offices come up for election.”

One of the catalysts of activism was Brat complaining that the women were "in his grill" at public appearances. Abigail Spanberger and Dave Brat debated on October 15, 2018, a debate marked by the fact that Brat mentioned Nancy Pelosi 21 times.[19][20]

• Website of Liberal Women of Chesterfield County.
• Blue Virginia: Kim Drew Wright interview with Larry Barnett.
• Interview of Kim Drew Wright by Marcello Rollando.