Barlow Raises $63K in First 40 Days, Gains Momentum in VA’s 6th Congressional District
The following is a media release submitted by Press Secretary Jayne Docherty on behalf of Pete Barlow for Congress:
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Pete Barlow’s campaign for Congress in Virginia’s 6th District recently announced that it has raised more than $63,000 in less than a month, from over 200 individual contributions and a median grassroots contribution of $100.
Barlow, a 10th-generation resident and former FEMA official, launched his campaign on August 20 in Augusta County with a promise to “Take the Valley’s Values to Congress.”
His “People Talk to Pete” Truck Tour has since visited communities and met with hundreds of voters across the district.
Attendees have responded enthusiastically to his message and represent a growing coalition of support from Independents, Libertarians, Republicans, and Democrats across the Shenandoah Valley.
“Congress unleashed disastrous policies on our region. That’s not what folks voted for in 2024 — and they’re right to be angry,” Barlow said. “Folks are fed up with being manipulated by elites who benefit from pitting neighbors against one another.”
In just over one month, Pete’s campaign has raised more than four times the amount raised by his nearest Primary election opponent during the first six months of 2025, and from nearly three times as many donors. With fundraising momentum and a growing network of volunteers, the building movement behind Barlow is entering October energized and confident.
Barlow’s opponent in next year’s General election, incumbent Congressman Ben Cline, supports the Trump administration’s cuts to healthcare for residents across the Shenandoah Valley.
Barlow has been forcefully speaking out against Cline and Trump’s disastrous cuts to Medicaid and rural hospitals.
In a September 25 CNN interview, Barlow defended voters’ access to healthcare, saying, “This administration has really taken a bloody ax to rural health care. It’s incredible, and it’s going to have downstream effects for years to come,” and “How is it making America great again for us to be cutting our rural health care?”
As a recent FEMA employee, he also spoke out about the implications of the Trump administration’s staff cuts at the disaster relief agency.
As Barlow said in Bloomberg, “If you cut off the head and the tail [at FEMA], you’re not left with much except a bunch of people who are too young to retire or just hoping for the next deferred resignation option.”
Barlow has been campaigning on pocket-book issues and posting reflections from his conversations with voters on social media. For example, Barlow posted this about rising prices and this message to national Democrats on tariffs and the government shutdown.
Pete Barlow is a lifelong Shenandoah Valley resident, conservation advocate, and former FEMA and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service official. He is running to represent Virginia’s 6th Congressional District in 2026 on a platform rooted in rural jobs and investment, government accountability, and the neighborly values of the Valley.
Learn more at: www.pete-barlow.com