Homeschooler Heads To Congress

The politically active homeschooling movement is celebrating the election to Congress of one of its own, Republican Jaime Herrera, who will represent Southwest Washington state in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The daughter of a high school teacher raised in poverty in Southern California who moved his family north to Ridgefield, Wash., Herrera was homeschooled through the ninth grade.

"My parents taught me God first, family second and service to community a close third," she wrote in a letter to precinct committee officers when she was seeking appointment to a vacant seat in the Washington state Legislature.

"Those were the values of our region, too: personal responsibility, a strong work ethic," Herrera said in an interview with The Columbian daily of Vancouver, Wash.

Her parents, Armando and Candice Herrera, adopted the three children of Armando's brother to rescue them from the influence of drugs and gangs in Southern California, the paper said. In 2006, through their church, the children became involved in gang prevention.

Herrera celebrated her 32nd birthday last week along with her Nov. 2 victory over Democrat Danny Heck, 53 percent to 47 percent.

Her campaign office said she is out of the country at the moment and unavailable for comment.

Homeschoolers were active nationwide in the mid-term elections, with a division of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association called Generation Joshua deploying 900 students in 21 races.

The Student Action Teams, or SATs, of about 45 or 50 were sent out five days before the election. In previous elections, they have worked for candidates such as Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Gov. Bob McDonnel of Virginia and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

Daniel Webster, a homeschooling father, who was infamously smeared by opponent Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., as "Taliban Dan," was a beneficiary of Generation Joshua's Florida efforts last week. Webster defeated Grayson by 18 points.

Herrera, meanwhile, was vying for an open seat in Washington state's 3rd District currently held by Democratic Rep. Brian Baird. Herrera's strong challenge prompted the White House to dispatch Vice President Joe Biden to the district.         

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