In the episode, Amy and Denver talk about their experiences running for office and make no mistake, they do not hold back! Learn about the highs, lows and the straight up ugliest parts about running for public office! It promises to be one jam packed - Sasquatch sized listen! *This episode was recorded on May 16th,2025, and aired on May 27th, 2025 About Truth in the Barrel: Amy and Denver are both military veterans, political junkies, and whiskey lovers who sit on opposite sides of the aisle but have one thing in common: they love the United States of America. Truth in the Barrel was born of Amy & Denver’s commitment to country, the Constitution, and a well-curated collection of the world’s finest bourbon. Join them weekly for deep dives into timely topics, interviews with recognizable guests, and a dose of call-in fun. Visit Our Website: www.TruthintheBarrel.com Subscribe to Truth in the Barrel: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthIntheBarrel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0JQcSj5mwVyGDJ8DcXwlu9?si=5f2bd1d1b0c64e6f Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-in-the-barrel/id1804092329 Instagram, BlueSky, Facebook, TikTok: @TruthintheBarrel
What are the highs and lows of running for office?
Wow, I mean, there's still some anger though, right? When you're talking about Trump as a leader, I mean, you still had a, it seems to me, you still had a bit of anger. You know, it was a bit of, it can't be this way.
It was almost like a, I can't believe this man is leading our country. I have to understand why people voted for him. And I have to not focus so much on him, but be the leader that I want to see in this country.
Somebody who is honest to the extent that they can be, who takes responsibility, who doesn't say there's a simple answer for everything, who's willing to compromise, who's willing to put in the work.
who who who doesn't lie to people i mean that was one of the things i learned on on my congressional fellowship when i learned about the budget uh that year on the hill one of the biggest oprah zaha moments was the whole idea of debt and deficit which i know we've talked a lot about on this show so much of that stuff was just lies And I was tired of it. I'm kind of a teacher.
I had that background. My dad was a teacher and I wanted to be a leader that people could believe in.
You know, it's an incredible story, right? The evolution. Because I guess I should tell people, the first time I decided to run, I was in my late 40s, I only ran for 10 weeks, right? As I told you, for Governor of Virginia, like an idiot. But it wasn't until almost after a year later, I was asked to run. When people saw the only the 10 weeks, I never run for federal office, Amy.
They came to my distillery. The person who preceded me, Tom Garrett, actually resigned because of alcoholism. Miller. to run after an alcoholic leaves office. But that one, when I decided that, I actually decided to run knowing I was going to lose because of the crazies that were running for his spot. So what's interesting is the first time was rage.
The second time, I guess it was anger, but I thought I was trying to protect the district and maybe me, I could change the votes of a few. So maybe somebody less crazy would win. That was it. That's what I was asked to do. And I ended up winning.
So Denver, you ran, I think, in an R plus six or R plus seven. And before you answer that for listeners, every district has a rating. And I think a lot of people don't know this, whether it's if it's a red district or it's a blue district and how how much it's red or blue. So if you're R plus one, that means you lean Republican, but only by one point. If you're R plus 30.
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