CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member Mike Pruitt has officially declared his candidacy for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although the election is more than a year away, Pruitt said the timing is right. “We are at a real turning point in history. Today the wealth inequality in this country is higher than it has been in the life of anyone alive in this district,” Pruitt said on Morning News. 

Pruitt referenced his work on the Board of Supervisors, highlighting efforts in broadband access, economic development, and rural infrastructure. He stated that federal issues have impacted local progress. “I am already in this role encountering places where my ability to affect change is stymied, is interrupted, is hurt, by the instability of the federal government,” he said. He also shared his views on current Representative John McGuire, calling him “remarkably cowardly” in representing the district’s needs. 

Pruitt addressed the broader political landscape and Democratic engagement with rural voters. “When rural people, when working class people… vote for Republicans, they do it because they think they’re looking after their best interest, because sometimes they are, because we have a Democratic Party that’s not listening to them,” he said. Pruitt plans to hold a summer speaking tour across the district and is directing those interested in his campaign to visit www.mikepruitt.com for more information. 

Listen to the full conversation here: