Congressional candidate TJ Cox is focused on November.
In the unique scenario that is the 21st district, Cox is the only Democrat running against incumbent Republican David Valadao. They are the only two listed on the ballot. No matter what voters decide in the June 5th primary, both men advance to the November election when the results count for real.
Thus Cox knows that the real work starts the day after next week, leading to the November election. He hopes his engineering and organizational skills are part of the Blue Wave in the fall.
Background of Cox
The 54-year old Cox (the TJ stands for Terrence John) serves as the president and COO of the Central Valley NMTC Fund, which distributes federal New Market Tax Credits to Valley organizations. You can see examples of the tax credits at this link.
Cox, with his wife, Dr. Kathleen Murphy, are raising four children (two in local high schools and two in college).
He has run for Congress once before, losing to 19th District incumbent George Radanovich of Mariposa in 2006. At that time, the district was drawn as a safe Republican seat.
This time around, Cox initially filed to run for the District 10 seat, held by Republican Jeff Denham, based in Modesto. When Emilio Huerta ended his campaign against Valadao, Cox switched gears to run for the Hanford-based seat instead. Democrats enjoy a decided voter registration advantage in the 21st, but Valadao has won re-election three times.
Cox Answers These Questions
He sat down with Take 5 to answer five key questions in the race:
— Why he is running in District 21.
— Water legislation.
— His view on immigration reform.
— His thoughts on gun control. “Guns are fun,” he says, but they must be kept out of the hands of dangerous people.
— Would he support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House?
