Glenn Nye Announces Run for Congress

NEWPORT NEWS, VA., DAILY PRESS

Newcomer seeks Drake's ouster

Democrat Glenn Nye is challenging the two-term Republican U.S. House incumbent.

By DAVID LERMAN

WASHINGTON - Democrat Glenn Nye, a former diplomat and Norfolk native, announced his candidacy for Congress Wednesday in a bid to challenge Republican Rep. Thelma Drake.

Nye, a 33-year-old newcomer to politics, said he decided to run after growing frustrated with U.S. foreign policy, particularly on Iraq.

After a decade overseas with the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Nye spent nine months in Iraq last year helping run a program to find jobs for Iraqis.

"I feel Congress needs representatives who have worked in areas where they're asking soldiers to serve," he said. "I feel I can bring that experience to Congress."

Defeating Drake, a two-term congresswoman and former real estate agent from Norfolk, will be an uphill battle for a candidate with little name recognition. While his family has roots in Hampton Roads, Nye, a bachelor, is renting in Virginia Beach and said he plans to buy a home there.

But Democrats have targeted Drake, who won re-election in 2006 with 51 percent of the vote. The district reaches from Hampton to the Eastern Shore.

Nye said he has raised $100,000 for his campaign in the past month and plans to raise $2 million. Drake had about $324,000 in cash on hand as of last fall, according to Federal Election Commission records.

"I think Drake has aligned herself too closely with the president instead of aligning herself with the needs of the district and the American people," Nye said. "She failed to ask the tough questions on Iraq. People in this district have been telling me they're looking for an independent leader."

Asked his view of Iraq policy, Nye declined to set a deadline for a troop withdrawal, but said, "I think we should significantly reduce our military footprint and let the Iraqis take the lead."

Drake, responding to Nye's announcement, said, "I welcome him to the race and I look forward to a campaign based on issues and ideas and integrity."

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