Democrats Nominate Candidate in Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District

The Ninth Congressional District Democratic Committee is excited to announce strong support for their nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in retired judge and nurse Karen G.H. Baker.

Baker will run against Congressman Morgan Griffith for the seat.

Baker, a resident of Floyd, has lived a life of service and has been active in community affairs.

As an attorney, Baker worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Council, ultimately serving as Assistant General Counsel for Systemic Litigation.

She was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University and a law clerk for the U.S. Department of Justice. She went on to be a federal administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration, serving 17 years.

After retiring from the bench, she became an RN and worked in cardiac step-down and the intensive care unit. After her retirement from the bench, Baker attended nursing school at Greenville Technical College in South Carolina. She became a registered nurse in 2011.

In addition, Baker has a history of pro bono legal work and community activism.

Growing up in the Midwest, Baker graduated from William Smith College in New York, earning a degree in comparative religion. She earned her JD from Catholic University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Baker has one son, Sean, a Marine, who she raised on her own for 15 years. She also had a Marine grandson, Trevor.

In 2004, Baker married Navy aircraft carrier pilot Richard Kimm. The two kept a small farm in South Carolina, tending horses and fostered rescued border collies until Kimm’s death in 2014. Baker subsequently moved to Floyd.