WEBVTT 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:09.960 Welcome back to Left of Old North. I am your 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:14.160 co -host, CJ, and today we have with us the one, 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:18.399 the only, Chuck Hubbard. Now, Chuck Hubbard is 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.199 running in NC Congressional District 5 against 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:27.500 longtime incumbent Virginia Fox. And native of 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:29.820 Wilkes County, we are excited to have him on 00:00:29.820 --> 00:00:31.739 the show. Thank you, thank you, thank you for 00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:35.520 coming on and for running against us. Running 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.380 against Fox herself. Thank you guys for having 00:00:38.380 --> 00:00:41.820 me on. It means the world. Thank you. It's a 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:46.119 pleasure. Yeah. Now, I guess, you know, for those 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:50.020 who aren't necessarily super familiar with Congressional 00:00:50.020 --> 00:00:54.340 District 5 or with you yourself, just maybe a 00:00:54.340 --> 00:00:57.619 little intro. All right. My name's Chuck Hubbard. 00:00:57.740 --> 00:01:01.039 I run for Congress against Virginia Fox, obviously. 00:01:02.620 --> 00:01:05.780 I'm a former newspaper publisher of the Wilkes 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:08.200 Journal Patriot in North Wilkesboro. It's my 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:11.400 family's paper. My grandfather founded that after 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:14.640 the First World War, actually. He was a printer's 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:17.560 devil and decided that, you know, I can do this. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:22.739 And so he founded it, and that paper helped him 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:27.099 to survive. It promoted my father and his brother 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:30.430 and my uncle. And, you know, and then I came 00:01:30.430 --> 00:01:34.549 in with my family members. You know, it was a 00:01:34.549 --> 00:01:37.469 wonderful endeavor. It's an example of the American 00:01:37.469 --> 00:01:42.209 dream coming true in a family's life. I know 00:01:42.209 --> 00:01:44.870 it's a tough race. You know, I ran against her 00:01:44.870 --> 00:01:47.409 last November. We gave her the hardest race she 00:01:47.409 --> 00:01:52.170 has ever had. And I am determined to put her 00:01:52.170 --> 00:01:56.060 out of office. in 2026 and uh and we're doing 00:01:56.060 --> 00:01:59.439 the work to get it done now uh the the district 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:01.959 that a lot of people may be familiar with was 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:04.319 the one that included forsyth county and yadkin 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:07.680 and few counties like that but in october of 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:12.360 2023 a gerrymander occurred and i often say a 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:14.180 funny thing happened on the way to the gerrymander 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:17.960 you know they they removed forsyth county and 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:20.340 yadkin and avery mitchell from my county from 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:23.870 my district but they dropped in the entire city 00:02:23.870 --> 00:02:26.389 of greensboro minus about 10 or something like 00:02:26.389 --> 00:02:30.810 that so uh that really gave us uh you know 150 00:02:30.810 --> 00:02:33.210 000 more votes or something like that you know 00:02:33.210 --> 00:02:35.889 and then they added in rocket ham county which 00:02:35.889 --> 00:02:39.169 though that is uh and i hate to mention his name 00:02:39.169 --> 00:02:44.490 here phil burgers uh uh home county uh but it 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:47.729 also has large spots of blue in it and then it 00:02:47.729 --> 00:02:52.909 runs west you know, through Wilkes into Watauga 00:02:52.909 --> 00:02:56.069 County, which itself is pretty blue with Appalachian 00:02:56.069 --> 00:03:00.469 there and so forth. And that's it. We got Stokes, 00:03:00.550 --> 00:03:05.009 Allegheny, Ashe, and, you know, Caldwell, Alexander. 00:03:06.590 --> 00:03:11.210 It changed the nature of the district is what 00:03:11.210 --> 00:03:15.349 it did. It went from a tough one to win to one 00:03:15.349 --> 00:03:18.449 that's very much winnable. If we do the work 00:03:18.449 --> 00:03:21.449 and get people to come out, we can't have Democrats 00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:23.830 sitting home this November like they did last 00:03:23.830 --> 00:03:30.150 time around. Or November 2026, excuse me. 100 00:03:30.150 --> 00:03:34.409 % agree. And again, thank you for going up against 00:03:34.409 --> 00:03:38.349 her. I mean, I know it's... uh again it's a tough 00:03:38.349 --> 00:03:40.449 race but like you said it's definitely a winnable 00:03:40.449 --> 00:03:43.129 one at this point and i'm i'm very excited to 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:46.389 see what happens but you know i guess one of 00:03:46.389 --> 00:03:48.250 my first things that i kind of wonder is how 00:03:48.250 --> 00:03:51.710 do you go up against someone like virginia fox 00:03:51.710 --> 00:03:53.870 you know someone who has been in congress as 00:03:53.870 --> 00:03:57.270 long as she has going on her 12th term right 00:03:57.270 --> 00:03:59.810 this this would be her 12th if she manages to 00:03:59.810 --> 00:04:03.280 pull one more out yeah she was elected 2005, 00:04:03.460 --> 00:04:07.319 the first time and sworn in 2006. So, yeah, I 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:11.919 mean, the truth is, is her record under undoes 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:15.000 her. You know, I mean, basically she has done 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:18.100 what she did in the North Carolina General Assembly, 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:20.720 which is follow what leadership says, do exactly 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:23.800 that. And then you rise, you know, and that's 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:25.800 that's kind of what she's done right there. I 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:28.300 mean, some people fall down. She seems to fall 00:04:28.300 --> 00:04:32.029 up. She's now managed to. to make herself the, 00:04:32.050 --> 00:04:35.389 or leadership has made her the chair of the rules 00:04:35.389 --> 00:04:38.990 committee. This big, beautiful bill that they're 00:04:38.990 --> 00:04:40.870 considering the Senate that came over from the 00:04:40.870 --> 00:04:44.910 house. She had to approve of every last bit of 00:04:44.910 --> 00:04:48.310 that. She didn't object to any of it. She hailed 00:04:48.310 --> 00:04:51.410 the passage of it. So I want to tell you something 00:04:51.410 --> 00:04:53.769 right now, you know, we can make her own that. 00:04:54.370 --> 00:04:58.939 And we have to make her own her record. And her 00:04:58.939 --> 00:05:01.459 record rides right against the middle class, 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:07.439 against the working class and supports billionaires. 00:05:08.139 --> 00:05:13.180 So I mean that she has used her position in Congress 00:05:13.180 --> 00:05:16.740 to to threaten vulnerable populations of our 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:19.319 nation, not just North Carolina, not just my 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:22.000 district, but the United States as a whole now. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:27.029 And, you know, it's my job to. to point that 00:05:27.029 --> 00:05:30.709 out to people and give them a choice. Do you 00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:34.250 like what you see? You guys might remember, do 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:39.769 you remember, I guess, December of 23 when she 00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:42.310 was yelling shut up at people on the floor of 00:05:42.310 --> 00:05:45.350 Congress? Y 'all remember? Oh, yeah. I think 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:47.350 that was right after Mike Johnson, right after 00:05:47.350 --> 00:05:50.319 his election, you know, the disreputable. It 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:54.319 was upsetting, and we received interest from 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:58.279 all 50 states at that point, every last state. 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:04.279 So that's the vision that we had to put forward. 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:07.980 That's it right there. I had to do the work. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.839 I started into the last race with name recognition 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:16.160 in Wilkesboro and Wilkes County, and I ended 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:19.589 up with name recognition in 10 counties. Including 00:06:19.589 --> 00:06:21.970 all of Greensboro. And so, I mean, this is what 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:25.670 we have. We have this to build upon. And that's 00:06:25.670 --> 00:06:29.449 what we're going to do. And you had a pretty 00:06:29.449 --> 00:06:36.269 impressive gain from previous Democratic candidates 00:06:36.269 --> 00:06:39.529 that had run in that district. I think you gained, 00:06:39.649 --> 00:06:43.389 I think, almost five points compared to the previous 00:06:43.389 --> 00:06:47.420 Democratic candidate. And during a year in which 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:50.680 Trump increased his lead in North Carolina compared 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:54.779 to his last race. So you feel pretty good about 00:06:54.779 --> 00:06:59.600 2026, it seems. I do. You know, I don't think, 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:03.019 you know, that a lot of us saw a red wave coming. 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:05.759 I don't think even most of the pundits. I mean, 00:07:05.779 --> 00:07:07.740 there might have been some trepidation right 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:09.879 at the end, but I think overall nobody really 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:14.629 saw it coming. Right. I mean, because at the 00:07:14.629 --> 00:07:16.810 end of the day, who in the world would think 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:18.870 that Donald Trump would be elected twice, much 00:07:18.870 --> 00:07:21.810 less once? You know, so I think that was a bit 00:07:21.810 --> 00:07:26.310 of reality that was hard to swallow. And that 00:07:26.310 --> 00:07:28.629 was the situation. It was kind of a drag on our 00:07:28.629 --> 00:07:32.350 race, too. I think when the top of the ticket 00:07:32.350 --> 00:07:34.689 loses, it's kind of a drag down the ticket. But, 00:07:34.709 --> 00:07:40.540 you know, I do feel confident. Six months of 00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:43.540 Donald Trump has been six months of a continual 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:47.879 drama show, nightmare, attack on law and order, 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:54.439 attack on citizens and his endless. I think Tim 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:57.259 Miller doesn't call it. He doesn't call it tweeting. 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:01.000 He calls it bleeding. So I think Donald Trump's 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:04.500 endless bleeding. You know, look at what happened 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:07.860 to Tom Tillis this week. Right. You know, I will 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:11.279 tell you something. Now, Tom Tillis, I probably 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.379 wouldn't agree with a whole heck of a lot that 00:08:14.379 --> 00:08:17.000 he has to say in terms of policy. And I find 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:18.720 it hard to believe that I'm saying what I'm getting 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:21.860 ready to say. But I got to congratulate the man 00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:26.220 for standing up, you know, and saying this budget 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:29.959 is bad. This bill is terrible, you know. And 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:33.080 now, of course, Donald Trump threatened the primary 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:37.509 and he. Said, I'm not going to run. But that 00:08:37.509 --> 00:08:41.149 also gives him another, what, year or so, something 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:44.750 like that, a year and a half or so to raise a 00:08:44.750 --> 00:08:48.190 little cane, maybe actually vote his conscience 00:08:48.190 --> 00:08:55.049 for a change. But that's, you know, we have to 00:08:55.049 --> 00:08:57.590 drive these points home. This is damaging to 00:08:57.590 --> 00:09:01.549 you folks right down on the ground. And people 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:04.960 are feeling pain. And they will feel more pain, 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:07.700 unfortunately. Economically, these tariffs are 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:12.639 terrible. We warned in the last election that 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:16.220 this was a tax on everyday people. And people 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:19.019 are going to find that out. It really does seem 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:21.620 like, and as you mentioned, Virginia Fox is the 00:09:21.620 --> 00:09:23.159 chair of the Rules Committee. It really does 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:25.919 seem like if that was the case in this 900 -some 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:28.000 -odd -page document, that she was really just 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.279 kind of pencil -whipping through those, if even 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:35.370 that. And I guess the question would be, where 00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:38.250 do you see yourself? Say you win in November 00:09:38.250 --> 00:09:41.330 2026. Say you win against Virginia Fox. Where 00:09:41.330 --> 00:09:43.990 do you see yourself in the mix of trying to undo 00:09:43.990 --> 00:09:46.769 some of these things that the Trump administration 00:09:46.769 --> 00:09:50.049 has put forward and Virginia Fox has helped facilitate? 00:09:51.610 --> 00:09:54.049 Right, right. The first thing is, of course, 00:09:54.070 --> 00:09:57.629 is to win the House. And God willing, I think 00:09:57.629 --> 00:09:59.830 we will win the House. I think it's going to 00:09:59.830 --> 00:10:02.600 be significant. And then, God willing, we win 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:06.200 the Senate. There are a few vulnerable races, 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:10.659 including the one here in North Carolina. It's 00:10:10.659 --> 00:10:13.600 definitely a big pickup opportunity. Hillis was 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:15.759 vulnerable anyway. So we'll see what happens. 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:19.019 I think we'll win that seat. And I think that 00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:23.700 the Senate's in play. That's first to first right 00:10:23.700 --> 00:10:26.799 there. And we've got to put ourselves in the 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:29.460 position where we can combat Donald Trump on 00:10:29.460 --> 00:10:34.460 a daily basis. and act as a bulwark against his 00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:39.679 worst instincts and looking toward 2028 and getting 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:42.700 a Democrat in the White House. This is what has 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:45.480 to be done right here. And in terms of Virginia 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.299 Fox's behavior and the damage that's been done 00:10:48.299 --> 00:10:51.960 by Republicans, one thing that some of it may 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:55.100 take a while to undo. If we're talking about 00:10:55.100 --> 00:11:02.509 a budget bill that destroys Medicaid. Snap attacks 00:11:02.509 --> 00:11:06.330 Medicare, you know, and also with with decisions 00:11:06.330 --> 00:11:09.929 that have been made through Doge, you know, whatever 00:11:09.929 --> 00:11:12.710 in the actual hell that is, you know, I mean, 00:11:12.710 --> 00:11:18.009 that's was an absurdity. But to close down Social 00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:22.149 Security offices in all 50 state states and to 00:11:22.149 --> 00:11:25.129 attack the Veterans Administration, these things 00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:28.830 are going to take a while to to fix. But I mean. 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:33.559 With Democrats in control of the House and hopefully, 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.639 hopefully to God, we get a veto proof majority 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.639 in the Senate, you know, and, you know, then 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:42.960 we undo the damage that's been done right there. 00:11:43.059 --> 00:11:46.759 I'm, you know, like I say, Virginia Foxx does 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:49.840 not. She's not an original thinker. He's not 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:51.919 going to be out there being creative. She's just 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:54.320 doing what she's told. I would be willing to 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.980 bet you dollars to donuts. She does even know 00:11:56.980 --> 00:12:00.570 what all's in that bill. I'd be willing to bet 00:12:00.570 --> 00:12:03.610 even more donuts, a baker's dozen, that none 00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:06.889 of them really actually read the bill. Which 00:12:06.889 --> 00:12:09.950 is something I find crazy right there. That's 00:12:09.950 --> 00:12:12.429 crazy. I mean, Marjorie Taylor Greene herself 00:12:12.429 --> 00:12:14.509 gave the game away when she didn't even realize 00:12:14.509 --> 00:12:17.409 that the 10 -year AI moratorium was even in the 00:12:17.409 --> 00:12:20.230 bill. I mean, what does it say about a bill when 00:12:20.230 --> 00:12:25.690 Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized it? It doesn't 00:12:25.690 --> 00:12:29.539 matter. You already voted for it. But picture 00:12:29.539 --> 00:12:32.879 this for a moment. You know, I mean, your voters, 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:35.620 the ones you convince to vote for you are a lot 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:40.019 of them on Medicaid. A lot of them receive food 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:44.000 assistance. How about tearing apart the Department 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.139 of Public Instruction? Let's try that one on 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:48.600 for size right there. What's the most important 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.159 instrument toward moving the society ahead? It 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:56.330 is public education and the government. Takes 00:12:56.330 --> 00:12:59.110 that away from its people. You have done irreparable 00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:03.289 harm. Those are things that we can fix. And I 00:13:03.289 --> 00:13:05.250 think the Department of Public Education is going 00:13:05.250 --> 00:13:11.009 to fix pretty quick. Yeah. I mean, I think it 00:13:11.009 --> 00:13:13.929 says a lot about, I guess, kind of the content 00:13:13.929 --> 00:13:15.950 of her character that, you know, Virginia Fox 00:13:15.950 --> 00:13:20.129 herself was a or is a former educator. She's 00:13:20.129 --> 00:13:22.190 been on the Education Committee and all that 00:13:22.190 --> 00:13:28.840 stuff. Yeah, exactly. Quotes. But she's fine 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:30.820 with just dismantling the system. But, you know, 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:34.320 the thing is, public school, like you said, that's 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:38.179 the keystone. That's the foundation of a society. 00:13:38.379 --> 00:13:41.320 That's how we progress. That's how we grow. That's 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:45.960 how we get to the next step. It's foundational, 00:13:46.419 --> 00:13:51.450 yes. Exactly. And if it's not foundational, show 00:13:51.450 --> 00:13:55.309 me a society in the world that gets ahead without 00:13:55.309 --> 00:14:01.870 good public education. You can't. There isn't 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:06.529 one. Europe has strong public education throughout 00:14:06.529 --> 00:14:12.210 pretty much, you know, and they've moved ahead. 00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:15.049 And I feel like we're lagging. I feel like we 00:14:15.049 --> 00:14:19.320 have been lagging. attacks on right on on on 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:21.240 schools is you know of course look at the north 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:24.700 carolina alone these school vouchers you know 00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:28.240 that take billions away from public schools what 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:30.879 what if that money was what if the voucher program 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:33.600 was ended and that money went toward kids toward 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.159 improving facilities toward improving curriculums 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:40.279 what if that you know um and that look at that 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:44.039 done in in uh all red states what if what if 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:47.759 uh those changes were made Well, they wouldn't 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:53.860 be red states for long. You have a challenging 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:56.779 district, to say the least, not just because 00:14:56.779 --> 00:14:59.340 it's held by an incumbent, but also because a 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:01.080 lot of those counties, as you previously mentioned, 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:06.200 are pretty red. I think a lot of the anxiety 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:09.940 around some Democrats, some more left leaning 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:13.519 Democrats included, or people that wouldn't otherwise 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:16.679 vote in a primary in an off year election. Might 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:19.720 be concerned that someone who runs in these districts 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:23.519 would play more of the bipartisanship card. And 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:26.779 I'm kind of curious as to how you think of that. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.159 And as an addendum to that, is something is that 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:33.600 something that that is necessary for a Democrat 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:39.299 to do to run in a place like your district? Well, 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:41.480 certainly you're going to have to appeal, have 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:44.559 a broad appeal. Right. You know, and your opponents. 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.159 record is going to have to reflect certain behaviors, 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:51.080 right? The opponent's record part of it, I've 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:54.899 got covered because behavior is what it is, you 00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:57.460 know, and her votes have been what they are. 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:03.559 You know, I'll say this. In our district, as 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:07.460 with the entire state of North Carolina, I think 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:10.940 it's about one -third are unaffiliated voters. 00:16:13.019 --> 00:16:15.080 X amount of those are going to be people who 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:17.799 became disenchanted with the Republican Party. 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:23.940 Maybe have an even more libertarian bent. And 00:16:23.940 --> 00:16:25.879 X amount of those are going to be people who 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:28.779 became disenchanted with our party. Or maybe 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:31.279 young people who have become disenchanted with 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:36.159 party politics in general. So at the end of the 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:39.960 day, when I go out and talk to people, It's very, 00:16:40.019 --> 00:16:43.139 very clear that we all have certain goals in 00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:45.720 mind for our lives. We've got to pay the bills, 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:50.120 put food on the table, make sure that the children 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:54.200 are taken care of. Make sure, you know, is it 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:57.120 too outrageous for families to expect to have 00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.519 a vacation once a year? These are all things 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.399 we can talk about here. We can talk about, you 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:04.420 know, did you like your high school? You know, 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:07.599 are you still a fan of your high school? What 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:10.140 if that goes away? I mean, these are all things 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:12.700 that are communicable right here with people. 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:17.079 And so I think that where Republicans have always 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:21.900 gotten us is this fear of the other bit. You 00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:26.240 know, I mean, they want to come out and stomp 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:28.220 up and down. Virginia Fox has been good at this, 00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:31.220 calling people socialists. Oh, they're different. 00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:33.960 They're socialist or they're a bunch of communists. 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:38.220 When in truth... There is no truth to that. She 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:40.339 did the same thing with me. I mean, you're talking 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:44.359 about the publisher of a newspaper in Wilkes 00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:46.819 County, and she was calling me a left -leaning 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:51.559 socialist. I mean, and my wife's a retired state 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:55.779 trooper. I mean, it just was a joke. I'm sure 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:59.019 there'd be a lot of people in certain areas that 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:01.140 would be very happy if that were the case. But 00:18:01.140 --> 00:18:04.279 like you said, it's not based in truth. Right. 00:18:04.420 --> 00:18:07.799 And if you and they come along and say, you know, 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:10.359 these gay people are threatening the fabric of 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:13.180 your family. These transgender people are threatening 00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:16.000 to pollute your schools. You know, these people 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.519 who don't worship God in the same way that you 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:22.380 do are a threat to your way of life. Now, they 00:18:22.380 --> 00:18:24.960 use that. They beat that drum. None of that's 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.559 true. None of it's true. But they beat that drum. 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:33.859 And so and are able to sow those types of. seeds 00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:37.160 of division. It's my job, I believe in that sense, 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:41.059 to be a healer, you know, to try and heal this 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:45.880 divide as best I can. And I've had a lot of good 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:49.579 conversations with people of every stripe who, 00:18:49.660 --> 00:18:54.039 you know, they don't always know what they want, 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:55.960 but they know they don't want the way things 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.299 are. So I'm offering them a different direction. 00:19:02.650 --> 00:19:10.890 Nice. I think they really just go after that 00:19:10.890 --> 00:19:15.710 fear of the other, as you mentioned. As we've 00:19:15.710 --> 00:19:20.309 said before on this podcast several times, they 00:19:20.309 --> 00:19:22.589 know their policies are awful. They know their 00:19:22.589 --> 00:19:26.150 policies are unpopular. They know that if people 00:19:26.150 --> 00:19:31.140 are able to focus on what they are, They would 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:33.819 lose so many votes if people realized what's 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:37.680 in this, you know, big, beautiful bill. Instead 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:40.440 of worrying that, you know, some random person 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:42.220 is going to take their job whenever that's not 00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:44.660 the case. They knew what was in the bill and 00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:49.339 weren't distracted by that. Yeah, that's so many 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:52.900 fewer votes for Republicans. Well, picture this, 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:54.680 you know, for a moment, what they had to convince 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.579 people. You know, we're talking about people 00:19:56.579 --> 00:19:58.559 who are supporting billionaires, right? People 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:00.869 who don't need a tax break. people who are the 00:20:00.869 --> 00:20:03.829 richest of the rich, the top, let's say the top 00:20:03.829 --> 00:20:07.349 5%, right? But a lot of these are directed at 00:20:07.349 --> 00:20:11.369 the top 1%, but the top 5%, let's say. What do 00:20:11.369 --> 00:20:14.130 you have to do to get people down on the ground, 00:20:14.250 --> 00:20:16.950 middle class and working class people, to support 00:20:16.950 --> 00:20:19.309 that nonsense right there? What you have to do 00:20:19.309 --> 00:20:23.250 is distract them with this other stuff, this 00:20:23.250 --> 00:20:26.569 emotional stuff and threats about their way of 00:20:26.569 --> 00:20:30.619 life that are not true. And look at what happens 00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:35.339 with immigration going forward. This is a travesty 00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:37.940 what's going on right now, dragging people off 00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:40.799 the streets and sending them to El Salvador, 00:20:40.900 --> 00:20:46.579 to prisons without due process. And if people 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:48.039 think that that's going to stop there, they're 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:54.480 mistaken. Every single American wants a strong 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:59.039 border. people can't cross willy -nilly just 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:03.200 i mean same thing with uh europe they want strong 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.980 borders that people can't uh cross willy -nilly 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:08.960 and so forth um same thing with any country but 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:11.680 it has to be done in a humane way it has to be 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.440 done constitutionally and and through law you 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:18.980 know and not not in this lawless inhumane fashion 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:21.480 that's being that's going on right you know and 00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:24.220 that's you know that's Obviously, I'm passionate 00:21:24.220 --> 00:21:27.579 about that right there. But you can distract 00:21:27.579 --> 00:21:34.039 people with lies so that you can provide cover 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:36.539 for billionaires. And I think that's what's going 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:39.519 on a lot of times. When you get to Congress and 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:42.859 you're looking at getting some committee assignments, 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:47.619 would being on a committee that's assigned to 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:49.480 immigration be something that is of interest 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:55.710 to you? Absolutely. Absolutely. President Biden 00:21:55.710 --> 00:22:01.609 offered, obviously, the strongest immigration 00:22:01.609 --> 00:22:05.549 bill in the history of the United States. Right. 00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:09.490 And Donald said what? He said, told Republicans, 00:22:09.809 --> 00:22:14.190 squash that because I want to campaign on it. 00:22:15.369 --> 00:22:19.609 OK, so, I mean, obviously we want strong borders, 00:22:19.789 --> 00:22:21.849 but we also want people to be treated fairly. 00:22:21.950 --> 00:22:24.930 We want the rule of law involved in this and 00:22:24.930 --> 00:22:27.950 not lawless behavior, not ice agents walking 00:22:27.950 --> 00:22:30.930 around with their faces covered, yanking people 00:22:30.930 --> 00:22:33.430 off the street without showing badges, without. 00:22:33.650 --> 00:22:37.349 I mean, it is not what we expect in the United 00:22:37.349 --> 00:22:40.710 States of America. So, yeah, I would love to 00:22:40.710 --> 00:22:42.990 be on that committee. Any others that pique your 00:22:42.990 --> 00:22:46.920 interest? maybe fighting with Marjorie Taylor 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:48.859 green on the oversight committee, something like 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:53.160 that. I don't, I don't relish fighting with anybody, 00:22:53.339 --> 00:22:57.319 you know, going to hide, you know, oversight 00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:01.140 committee would be fine. You know, I, I, I, my, 00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:05.240 my biggest focus right now is not on what I'll 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:07.200 be doing, which committee I'll be sitting on. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:11.579 It's on winning this race. That's, that's the, 00:23:12.650 --> 00:23:15.630 That's the thing in front of me right now. The 00:23:15.630 --> 00:23:20.609 rest of this, we'll get to it. I'm willing to 00:23:20.609 --> 00:23:23.230 work anywhere, anytime, do anything that we need 00:23:23.230 --> 00:23:27.910 to do to advance our country. Any committee I'm 00:23:27.910 --> 00:23:30.289 on, I'll show up for work. We'll do the job. 00:23:30.529 --> 00:23:33.250 I believe in hard work. I've done that all my 00:23:33.250 --> 00:23:37.569 life. We'll do what's right for people without 00:23:37.569 --> 00:23:41.640 regard to their social status or their... Bank 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:46.039 accounts. Sure. And to that end, what are you, 00:23:46.099 --> 00:23:49.559 what is your strategy going forward and continue 00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:52.140 to campaign? I mean, other than appearing on 00:23:52.140 --> 00:23:55.299 this podcast, which I'm sure. Well, this podcast 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:57.920 will win the election for me, so. I hope so. 00:23:58.900 --> 00:24:01.759 I expect a very big check if that's the case. 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:08.220 Then I'll go to a very big prison. That will 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:14.009 be it. We have to show energy, the energy that 00:24:14.009 --> 00:24:15.509 we showed last time. You know, I've got to be 00:24:15.509 --> 00:24:17.630 active in all 10 counties. You know, this coming 00:24:17.630 --> 00:24:21.170 Friday, for example, I'm walking with others 00:24:21.170 --> 00:24:24.450 in the July 4th parade over in Watauga County. 00:24:24.589 --> 00:24:27.809 Then on Saturday, my wife Sherry and I will be 00:24:27.809 --> 00:24:32.730 going with Anderson Clayton and others to Ash 00:24:32.730 --> 00:24:35.789 County, to downtown Ash County in West Jefferson. 00:24:36.170 --> 00:24:41.789 And we'll be there for Christmas in July. A ton 00:24:41.789 --> 00:24:44.130 of events in Greensboro will continue doing that. 00:24:44.829 --> 00:24:47.829 One of the things that we are doing is we're 00:24:47.829 --> 00:24:50.990 doing town halls in every single county. Now, 00:24:51.049 --> 00:24:54.309 Virginia Fox, as you all know, came out and said 00:24:54.309 --> 00:24:56.049 that she's not doing town halls because that's 00:24:56.049 --> 00:24:58.470 just a place where people yell at their member 00:24:58.470 --> 00:25:02.950 of Congress. Bless her heart. Bless her heart. 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:06.359 If you do your job and don't offend people and 00:25:06.359 --> 00:25:09.140 don't act actively against their best interests, 00:25:09.299 --> 00:25:11.400 then people probably don't yell at you as much, 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:16.900 maybe. But we've already done town halls in Greensboro 00:25:16.900 --> 00:25:19.759 and Watauga County and in Mount Airy over in 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:24.619 Surry County. We got them set to go in Caldwell 00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:28.400 County and I want to say Stokes. I'm not positive, 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:32.339 but we're getting this going. You know, and we're 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:34.160 going to do them. And I want to talk to people. 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:35.960 I want to hear what they have to say. It's important. 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:42.539 You know, and I try and listen. I enjoy the back 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:45.240 and forth. I don't know what Virginia Fox hates 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:49.279 about that. You know, I enjoy talking to people. 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:53.420 You know, even people who are like hard right. 00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:56.460 You know, we can find common ground. And that's, 00:25:56.460 --> 00:25:58.900 you know, I'm actually pretty good at that. You 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:00.519 know, we'll sit down and talk about what's really 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:04.279 important. We've got to have that energy right 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:09.519 there. And, of course, the financial aspect of 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:12.119 it is huge. We're raising money as hard as we 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:14.180 can. She's got about $5 million in the bank. 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:16.500 The last time I looked, and we're looking to 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:19.299 raise about $2 million. I hate the amount of 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:22.380 money that's in politics. I hate it. Absolutely, 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.400 it makes me sick to my stomach that Elon Musk 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.319 was allowed to put $250 million in a presidential 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:33.890 election. I think that swayed it. I think that 00:26:33.890 --> 00:26:36.670 added points to Donald Trump. I think Citizens 00:26:36.670 --> 00:26:39.710 United was an absolutely wrongheaded decision. 00:26:40.130 --> 00:26:42.849 The Supreme Court was wrong, but we have to live 00:26:42.849 --> 00:26:47.589 with it. And the end result is that races, all 00:26:47.589 --> 00:26:50.190 the way from the presidential races, all the 00:26:50.190 --> 00:26:55.750 way down to Congress and state races, it's been 00:26:55.750 --> 00:26:57.730 affected. And so we've got to raise the money. 00:26:57.869 --> 00:27:01.569 We're looking to raise about $2 million. when 00:27:01.569 --> 00:27:04.049 Elon Musk puts his hat in the ring for a state 00:27:04.049 --> 00:27:07.369 Supreme court race in, uh, where was it? Wisconsin. 00:27:07.690 --> 00:27:11.890 I'm pretty sure it's, I mean, it's a good thing 00:27:11.890 --> 00:27:14.950 that they didn't win up there because that would 00:27:14.950 --> 00:27:18.009 have set a precedent for. His hat got stomped 00:27:18.009 --> 00:27:21.690 on in that ring too. You know, I noticed. Sure 00:27:21.690 --> 00:27:24.269 did. People, people saw him wearing that cheese 00:27:24.269 --> 00:27:28.069 head and they were like, uh, nope, absolutely 00:27:28.069 --> 00:27:33.619 not. That's right. And I think about Allison 00:27:33.619 --> 00:27:38.700 Riggs and her race here. The threat is not just 00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:42.440 in the federal courts. It's, of course, with 00:27:42.440 --> 00:27:46.799 the right trying to control courts in all states, 00:27:46.900 --> 00:27:50.819 state courts. Allison's a friend of mine, and 00:27:50.819 --> 00:27:54.400 she did a wonderful job. And Jefferson Griffith, 00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:57.019 I think his name is, ought to be ashamed of himself. 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:03.309 He should be ashamed. Anyway. Yeah, 100 % agree. 00:28:04.170 --> 00:28:06.630 And I will say, just backing up half a second 00:28:06.630 --> 00:28:09.349 to the whole town hall thing, you know, you said 00:28:09.349 --> 00:28:12.210 Virginia Fox's thing was, oh, well, you know, 00:28:12.269 --> 00:28:15.369 that's just, I'm going to get yelled at or whatever. 00:28:16.109 --> 00:28:20.329 I think what that shows, her saying that, is 00:28:20.329 --> 00:28:25.049 a fundamental disrespect for her constituents, 00:28:25.130 --> 00:28:29.250 for the citizens of the 5th District. It shows 00:28:29.250 --> 00:28:33.539 that you know just to be blunt she does not give 00:28:33.539 --> 00:28:36.160 a about what they have to say that is correct 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:40.339 all about herself and that's it herself and her 00:28:40.339 --> 00:28:43.819 donors right right and and you'll notice that 00:28:43.819 --> 00:28:46.220 she's only going to places in the district where 00:28:46.220 --> 00:28:48.839 there are people of like mind people who will 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:51.259 vote for her no matter what you know that's uh 00:28:51.259 --> 00:28:53.960 that's not where i'm at right there i mean we 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:55.980 got to talk to everybody and everybody counts 00:28:55.980 --> 00:28:59.980 your every vote counts uh which is another concern 00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:03.640 in the United States. We don't know what more 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:06.799 interference there will be in elections in 2026. 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:11.940 But regardless, my job is to represent everybody, 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:16.460 not just people who give me money, not just people 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:22.180 who sing out of the same hymnal as I do. People 00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:25.119 with radically different viewpoints, sometimes 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:27.720 they say some pretty cool stuff. You know, and 00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:30.440 they changed my mind. There's an old friend of 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:32.619 mine, the late Earl Edwards. He was probably 00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:35.579 the best football coach North Wilkes High School 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:38.740 ever had. And Earl was a dear friend of mine. 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:41.400 He says, I reserve, he used to always say, I 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:43.200 reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow. 00:29:44.380 --> 00:29:46.859 Be willing to listen to others. And I think that's 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:49.660 important. I'm not sure Virginia Fox ever was 00:29:49.660 --> 00:29:52.019 willing to listen to somebody else. You know, 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:56.529 he's an old politician. She knows how to turn 00:29:56.529 --> 00:30:00.690 the right levers, you know, and, and let me tell 00:30:00.690 --> 00:30:04.309 you, fellas, her time is done in politics. Love 00:30:04.309 --> 00:30:09.569 to hear it. Now, just one, one final question, 00:30:09.609 --> 00:30:11.630 one final question before we wrap it up here. 00:30:12.269 --> 00:30:15.829 And it's one we try to ask of most of our guests. 00:30:16.849 --> 00:30:23.880 What is your go -to cookout order? If I'm having 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:29.480 a cookout, oh, man, let's throw some, well, for 00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:32.920 an entree. I can go with steaks. Let me tell 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:36.740 you, medium rare. But I'm also happy with dogs 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:39.960 and hamburgers, you know, as long as we got some 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:43.599 chili and onions to go on that, you know. How 00:30:43.599 --> 00:30:47.259 about some of mama's good old potato salad, you 00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:51.160 know. And my wife makes a mean potato salad. 00:30:52.349 --> 00:30:56.930 uh make you dance for it you know and uh down 00:30:56.930 --> 00:31:00.450 some uh great banana pudding either you know 00:31:00.450 --> 00:31:05.410 and and if you guys ate my green beans you will 00:31:05.410 --> 00:31:07.549 never eat any others you'll be asking me for 00:31:07.549 --> 00:31:12.230 the recipe well uh if you if you uh happen to 00:31:12.230 --> 00:31:14.410 have a cook gal a campaign cook or anything like 00:31:14.410 --> 00:31:17.109 that uh i will gladly make the trip from wake 00:31:17.109 --> 00:31:19.809 county i would love to have y 'all you know we'd 00:31:19.809 --> 00:31:22.029 love to have y 'all up here in the foothills. 00:31:23.009 --> 00:31:28.849 This is an election in 2026 that genuinely, and 00:31:28.849 --> 00:31:32.250 this is no hyperbole, this is just the fact of 00:31:32.250 --> 00:31:34.549 it, it's about the soul of our nation. Which 00:31:34.549 --> 00:31:37.789 direction are we going? If we don't take back 00:31:37.789 --> 00:31:42.430 the House and we can't contest the Senate, then 00:31:42.430 --> 00:31:46.769 we're in deep, deep trouble. The House and the 00:31:46.769 --> 00:31:50.299 Senate are not doing their job. Republicans are 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:52.920 just conceding their power and their authority 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:56.900 to Donald Trump. And I'll be damned if I'll do 00:31:56.900 --> 00:31:59.680 that. Well, Mr. Chuck Hubbard, thank you so much 00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:01.720 for your time today. We really appreciate you 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:04.539 coming and talking to us and letting us know 00:32:04.539 --> 00:32:06.819 that there is actually somebody out there fighting 00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:10.160 against somebody like Virginia Fox. If anybody 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:13.160 out there wants to donate, wants to get on the 00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:16.460 ground and volunteer, this is a candidate that 00:32:16.460 --> 00:32:19.769 really needs the help. And we would love to see 00:32:19.769 --> 00:32:23.529 when this November, 2026. Thanks Chuck again 00:32:23.529 --> 00:32:25.690 for coming on and we wish you the best of luck. 00:32:25.990 --> 00:32:30.369 Thank you guys. It's been fun. You know, let's 00:32:30.369 --> 00:32:34.150 do it. Let's get out every day. Thanks so much. 00:32:34.190 --> 00:32:34.769 Thank you.