Zach Shrewsbury
Zach Shrewsbury | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 10, 1991 |
| Political party | Democratic |
Zach Shrewsbury is a native West Virginian, a United States Marine Corps veteran, a community organizer and political activist. He is running as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the 2024 United States Senate election in West Virginia[1][2][3]
Early life and family[edit]
Shrewsbury was born February 10, 1991. He is native of West Virginia and comes from a working class family. His grandfather was a coal miner, his father worked in sales, and his mother was a homemaker.[4][5] He grew up on a farm in Ripley and graduated from James Monroe High School in Monroe County. He has said "College was unaffordable, and the choice was between the mines and a minimum-wage job, and I chose the military." He has lived in Fayetteville; he lives in Princeton.[6]
Military career and community organizer[edit]
Shrewsbury served five years (2010 to 2015) in the United States Marine Corps[4] during which he guarded the perimeter at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and was deployed to Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.[1]
After his discharge, he moved to Seattle, where he began his activism, but chose to return to West Virginia, despite the lack of prosperity he had seen in the U.S. and abroad.[1] He joined Common Defense[7] to rally fellow veterans against what that group calls “Trump’s corrupt agenda of hate” and “the entrenched power of greedy billionaires who have rigged our economy.” Shrewsbury has been an organizer for Citizen Action and the New Jobs Coalition.
2024 U.S. Senate candidacy[edit]
| Shrewsbury for U.S. Senate | |
|---|---|
| Campaign | 2024 U.S. Senate election in West Virginia |
| Candidate | Zach Shrewsbury |
| Affiliation | Democratic |
| Launched | October 15, 2023 |
| Headquarters | Princeton |
| Receipts | US$75,576[8] |
| Website | |
| https://www.shrewsburyforsenate.com | |
On November 10, 2023, Senator Joe Manchin announced he would not seek re-election as Senator from West Virginia in the United States Senate. While he is Democrat, West Virginia is consider a so-called red state.[9][10]
Shrewsbury launched his candidacy on October 15, 2023 in Charles Town at the Jefferson County Courthouse where state authorities convicted abolitionist John Brown.[1] and on January 17, 2024 he officially filed paperwork with the West Virginia Secretary of State.[11] The primary election will take place on May 14, 2024.[12]
Shrewsbury has said there is not “enough working-class representation in our government.”[13] He supports the right to unionize and strong labor protections, universal healthcare, environmental justice, energy independence with an emphasis on renewables manufacturing, racial justice, progressive tax policies, abortion rights as well as support for veterans and LGBTQIA2S.[14]
Of red-baiting he told The Guardian: “If caring about working-class people, caring about people having bodily autonomy, water rights, workers’ rights, makes you a socialist, then call me whatever you want. Doesn’t bother me.”[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Stein, Chris (November 19, 2023). "Can a socialist ex-marine fill Joe Manchin's seat in West Virginia?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ Hall, Madison. "Can this Democrat actually win Joe Manchin's Senate seat in West Virginia?". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ Dan Kaufman, Dan Kaufman (May 9, 2024). "The Workingman and the Company Store...Can a progressive campaign break the coal industry's hold on West Virginia politics?". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Early, Steve (December 6, 2023). "Two Working-Class Candidates Launch U.S. Senate Runs". Labor Notes. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ Early, Steve (December 7, 2023). "In West Virginia and Nebraska: Can Two Working Class Candidates Crash a Multi-Millionaire's Club in Washington, DC?". LA Progressive. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "Zach Shrewsbury says he'll be a voice for the working class". Yahoo News. January 27, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "Zach Bio". Common Defense.
- ^ "2024 Election United States Senate - West Virginia". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ https://www.98online.com/10-political-races-to-watch-in-2024-besides-the-presidential-election/
- ^ https://apnews.com/article/voter-registration-west-virginia-political-parties-3acf5f5082fa975c7a09222f87265b04
- ^ Leith, Micah (January 18, 2024). "Shrewsbury officially files for US Senate". ABC WOAY. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "2024 State Primary Election Dates". www.ncsl.org. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ Eden Villalovas, Eden Villalovas (November 13, 2023). "Early favorites who could succeed Manchin for senator of West Virginia". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Beard, David (November 30, 2023). "Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Zach Shrewsbury holds campaign kickoff rally in Morgantown". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
External links[edit]
- Shrewsbury for Senate
- Balletopedia
- Young, Matthew (January 4, 2024). "Zach Shrewsbury says his U.S. Senate bid will 'be a fight, but it's a fight that has to happen'". RealWV. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- "Zach Shrewsbury Fighting the Corporate Democratic War Party from Within". Morgan County USA.
- "Between the Rivers". The Forum.