Taysha DeVaughan, D-Big Stone Gap, has earned the historic 9th Congressional District Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives.
DeVaughan advanced after the Democratic convention was canceled.
She will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, in November.
DeVaughan is the first woman to earn the nomination of a major party in the 9th, along with being the first enrolled member of an Indigenous nation to seek the office in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation, it is important to DeVaughan that little girls who look like her, both in her nation and in the 9th see that they can run for office.
“The 9th Congressional District deserves a seat at the table where their needs and concerns are addressed. Too often big corporations and executives’ needs are put before the community and the hardworking people of the 9th. The miners, the teachers, the healthcare providers, and the aging population of the 9th, families along with young people who are fleeing need to know that someone is going to fight for them and their futures every day,” DeVaughan said.
DeVaughan, of Wise County, makes her home with her son, Aiden. She was born in Lawton, OK, and is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. She moved to Virginia in 2011 shortly after her father became the Director of Flatwoods Job Civilian Conservation Center in Coeburn, VA.
Soon after graduating from UVA-Wise in 2018 with a BA in Communications, DeVaughan began her career at the Appalachian Community Fund as a Regional Organizer and was quickly promoted to her current position as the Donor Engagement Coordinator. She has been an active member of the community. She is the former President of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, a founding member of Lonesome Pine Mutual Aid and a gubernatorial appointee to the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice where she serves as chairman. She also is a member of the Environmental Justice for All federal working group.
