Yesterday, I got an email from a Washington reporter with the subject line “NC-09.” The body read, “I’m doing a Stevie Rivenbark story…[She] is being pitched as the GOP’s answer to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. What do you think of the comparison and should NC Democrats be worried about facing her if she wins the nomination in the special election?”

I haven’t been paying that much attention to the GOP primary in the special election in the 9^thCongressional district. I responded, “I don’t know anything about her.” He seemed a bit incredulous when his next email read, “Don’t know anything about her?” with a link to her web site.  

I checked it out. Rivenbark is a young woman from Fayetteville who is a single mother of two boys. She doesn’t seem to have any political experience, but in 2012, she was in a bad car accident that almost took her life. She was pregnant at the time and when an infection set in, she had to make a decision whether to terminate the pregnancy or not. She chose to keep the baby and gave birth a few months later. In her words, “I chose life.” That’s the defining story of her campaign—overcoming obstacles and making a tough choice in support of her unborn child.  

Rivenbark says she wants to show that there are still young pro-life, pro-gun conservatives out there. Her Youtube video shows her at a gun range. Proof that you like to shoot seems to be a basic qualifier for GOP candidates. What she really shows is that conservatism today is more of an attitude than philosophy. Sure she bashes liberals in schools but she wants to reform our health care system to reduce costs and improve access. She also supports increasing legal immigration. As a mother of a child on the autism spectrum, she wants government support for similar families. Policywise, she sounds more like a Southern Democrat than a Trump Republican.

Despite what the reporter implied, her campaign has yet to catch fire. The video has 554 view so far. Her twitter account has only 230 followers and she’s not tweeting much. Her Facebook page only has 717 followers. A quick google search only turns up one article about her. Clearly, she lacks the social media savvy that launched Ocasio-Cortez into the national spotlight. 

That said, the fact that a DC reporter reached out to me and that I’m writing about her now shows some media savvy. As far as her chances against McCready, I don’t know, but I’d rather have her than a knuckle-dragger like Sen. Dan Bishop or the Boss Hogg wannabe from Union County. She’s got a tough road, though. I doubt most Republicans know anything about her and she’s from the least populated side of the district. Her attempt to appeal to younger voters might be good for the future of the GOP but most of those voters in the special election will be retired or close to it, not just starting their families and careers. Good luck to her, though.