Summary
Current Position: US Senator
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2022 US Representative for District 5
I am an ordained minister, small-business owner, and candidate for U.S. Congress to represent Virginia’s 5th District. I have been married to my wife, Minhee, for almost 20 years. We have two daughters, Lucy and Agnes.
Source: Campaign page
OnAir Post: Joshua Throneburg
About
Source: Campaign page
I grew up in a farming family in a town of just 500 people. Life as a kid in that small town felt simple – play football, bale hay, and go to church. The lessons from that small town and its country church were simple, too – work hard and serve others.
The desire to serve has been central to my pursuits, both pastoral and political. But it’s not just a desire to serve that inspires this campaign, it’s also the fears of a father. Standing at the center of my candidacy for U.S. Congress are my two daughters and the uncertain future they are inheriting.
America is facing incredible challenges. Our planet is in crisis and there’s no guarantee that it will remain habitable. Our national debt is spiraling out of control and there’s no plan to address it. Communities of color suffer under systemic racism while rural communities remain long neglected. Democracy, the beating heart of this incredible nation, is under attack.
These issues threaten the future we hand our children. However, there is hope and there is opportunity! We can fight climate change and create jobs while building a more equitable future for all, but we need compassionate and common sense leadership to do it. That is why I’m running for Congress – to serve the 5th district each and every day and to fight for a better future for our kids tomorrow. If you want to fight for that future too – join us!
Web
Campaign Site, Twitter, Facebook
Politics
Source: none
Issues
Source: Campaign page
Addressing the Climate Emergency
It’s time to start treating climate change like the emergency it is: if we have nowhere to live, then nothing else matters. Years of inaction on climate solutions have brought us to a moment where we must take urgent and immediate action to save our planet. This country is filled with innovators and hard workers who can come together to reduce our use of fossil fuels, preserve our oceans, forests and air, and incentivize other nations to join us in this fight. Not only will these actions protect our most vulnerable, preserve a future for our kids, and lure good-paying jobs to our district. Josh supports the Green New Deal, which would put thousands of Virginians to work creating and manufacturing cutting-edge green energy technology, rebuilding our infrastructure, and helping redress air and water pollution. Josh will fight for good union jobs here in Virginia that will stop extracting precious resources from our land and begin healing the planet.
Read more about addressing the climate emergency.
Improving Healthcare Access & Affordability
Every American should have access to affordable, quality healthcare regardless of where they live, the color of their skin, or how much is in their bank account. No one should suffer, die or declare bankruptcy because they can’t afford or access a doctor. The solutions to our broken healthcare system are complex, but we must build a system that helps people gain access, reduce costs, and improve outcomes. That’s why Josh supports Medicare for All, which guarantees access to healthcare for all Americans while helping curb the out-of-control costs that exist in our current broken system.
Read more about improving healthcare access and affordability.
Protecting Our Rural Communities
The barbershop where Josh got his hair cut as a kid is boarded up. His hometown’s only school closed right after he graduated. The grocery store is abandoned, just like the funeral home, restaurant, and gas station. When these businesses left, the entire community dried up. This is a tragedy, and it’s happening all across the Fifth District. We can restore our network of thriving, robust rural communities and small towns, but it requires strategic investment. We need to prioritize our small family farms by giving them the same access to capital as big agribusiness and sparing them the regulations that weren’t designed for small operations. We need to make sure rural communities have access to safe schools and quality hospitals, despite being more spread out. And as we plan for a post-pandemic future, we should take the opportunity to build out broadband infrastructure. Rural broadband is the cardiovascular system distributing opportunity and access to small communities by providing equitable access to education, resources, healthcare, and small businesses. Rural communities feel left behind by Congress because they have been – now is the time to reinvest and make our communities whole again.
Read more about protecting our rural communities.
Working Toward Racial Justice
Right now, the average Black American family owns 1/10th the wealth of the average white American family. We have made strides in legislating equal rights for all citizens, but those rights are regularly undermined by the racial biases and inequities that still exist in our system. The racial wealth gap remains a stain on our nation, and Josh supports a comprehensive set of policies to help reverse it. Josh is also committed to criminal justice reform to address the over-policing of poor and non-white neighborhoods, the school-to-prison pipeline, and disproportionate sentencing and use of force.
Read more about working toward racial justice.
Ensuring Quality Education
As the son of a fourth-grade teacher, the product of a robust public education, and the parent of two young children, Josh knows firsthand how important it is for the next generation of workers and citizens to have a quality education. An education that prepares our students for the 21st century begins in Pre-K and extends through technical school or college. We need to fund affordable childcare and quality pre-K for our youngest learners so they can thrive and grow while their parents work, and we need to guarantee that high school graduates can continue their education without being crushed under a mountain of debt. We need free community college for all students. We also need a substantial reinvestment in our public schools and our hard-working teachers.
Read more about ensuring quality education.
Follow the links below to learn Josh’s position on supporting our veterans, protecting the right to choose, protecting LGBTQ+ rights, gun violence prevention, disability rights, and agriculture/farming.
