Politics & Government

Congressional Candidate Stumps at Oak Marr

Kenneth Vaughn greets voters at Oakton precinct

Update (1:15 a.m. Wednesday)

Kenneth Vaughn shook hands with and introduced himself to voters outside the precinct at Oak Marr Recreation Center on Tuesday afternoon after a long day of doing the same around the 11th congressional district.

Vaughn will face fellow Republican Chris Perkins in a primary election of his own June 12, and hoped to catch the attention of conservative voters as they cast their ballots in the GOP's presidential primary on Super Tuesday. 

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"I'm actually a conservative," Vaughn said. "I'm pro-life, he's pro-choice. I'm pro-gun rights, he thinks local jurisdictions should be able to violate the Second Amendment."

A spokesman for the Perkins campaign refuted the characterization, calling the comments "blatant lies."

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"Unfortunately, as our primary opponent scrambles to meet the support that we enjoy as the frontrunner in the race, he feels compelled to launch the first negative attacks of the election," Tyler Harber wrote in an email to Oakton Patch. "Colonel Perkins will not stoop to peddling lies about his opponent to win. The Colonel plans on winning the old fashioned way, working hard to connect with voters who agree that our country has some major problems that require a Congressman that will serve with integrity."

The Vaughn campaign's focus has not strayed from the debt and the economy , and he said Perkins declared the payroll tax holiday passed last week in Congress a small victory.

In a Feb. 24 statement on his website, Perkins wrote, "We may have won a small battle with this tax cut, but we're a long way from winning the war."

Vaughn said no victory of any kind should be declared over the decision.

"I don't view that as a victory at all. I view it as an immoral act that we added another hundred billion dollars to the deficit," Vaughn said. 

Vaughn says 11th District constituents he has met largely have the same priority in fixing the economy. 

"The debt and the economy are the two big issues [I've heard from constituents]," Vaughn said. "It's going to be a challenge to balance that, but we can do it. The economy is not in the dump because we're not spending enough. We're spending more than we ever have in the past. The economy is not in the dump because we're taxing too much, we're taxing lower rates than we ever have. The economy is in the dump because we're overregulated and we've created all this free trade with countries like China that have no regulation. Where do you expect businesses to go?"

Vaughn feels confident with the pace of his campaign and says he feels like he's keeping up with Perkins with dedicated volunteers who are working hard to gain more name recognition for Vaughn. 

"We've had volunteers at many of the precincts, and I haven't heard that [Perkins] has shown up to any of them," Vaughn said. "We're moving forward and getting my name out. I feel really good about that."

Harber said the campaign had a presence at dozens of precincts on Super Tuesday. 

Both campaigns continue to collect the requisite 1,000 signatures within the 11th congressional district by March 29 to get their names on the primary ballot. Harber said Perkins has already exceeded 1,600 signatures.

This article has been updated to include comments from the Perkins campaign.


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