For Ken Vaughn and virtually any other private citizen not named Romney, Kerry, Roosevelt, Kennedy or Bush, running for Congress is a costly proposition. Of course, it’s costly even if you have pots of money. But for most of us, seeking public office at the national level comes at life-altering financial sacrifice. (Even a Kennedy, as Romney likes to remind us, sometimes has to mortgage one of his houses to remain competitive.)
Vaughn is a traffic engineer and small business-owner, but he is prepared to make such a sacrifice. He wants to unseat Rep. Gerald Connolly, a seemingly well-entrenched two-term Democrat from Virginia’s 11th congressional district. To that end, Vaughn has spent at least $100,000 of his retirement fund just to get into the race.









