Principled

At 16, Jamie Radtke wouldn't take no for an answer.

She wanted to start a club for Christian athletes at her public high school, but the principal of her school denied the request. So Radtke did research, consulted attorneys, won the argument, and founded her club.

Since then, Radtke has painted herself as an independent thinker who seeks to hold people in power accountable. She's hoping to win retiring Virginia Sen. Jim Webb's U.S. Senate seat.

"I've spent the last ten years challenging the Republican establishment," she said, citing her varied experiences, most notably her role as Virginia Tea Party president. "I've gone up against Eric Cantor and [Governor] McDonnell and Speaker Howell when I've felt like they've been wrong. When they've been right, I've been a strong advocate. Principle comes before party."

Radtke is contending in a tough primary race against frontrunner George Allen and a number of lesser-known candidates, such as Tim Donner and Bishop E.W. Jackson. The primary winner will most likely face former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine, whom Webb has officially endorsed as his successor.

A homeschool mom in her late 30s, Radtke has never held political office, and opponents are likely to emphasize her lack of experience. Instead, she's running as a Washington outsider and focusing on Tea Party values such as, "the Founders' vision of individual rights, constitutional adherence, limited government, fiscal restraint, free markets, and virtue and accountability."

She said the strong support of the Tea Party sets her apart from other candidates who also have never held office, making her a serious contender against Allen in the primaries and Kaine in 2012.

"When you're running against George Allen, you need to have an organization, a strong foundation. We have a national base to start from, and the other candidates who have not held political office before don't," Radtke told WORLD on Thursday. "We'll be putting out very specific policies about how to move Virginia and the country forward."

Radtke grew up in a military family and spent several of her childhood years in West Germany, where her dad was deployed during the Cold War. She said that when she returned to America as a middle schooler, she was shocked at the number of consumer choices that showed just how prosperous America was because of free market principles.

She graduated from Liberty University with a bachelor's degree in Government and earned her master's degree in Public Policy from the College of William and Mary. In addition to her Tea Party experience, she founded her own political consulting business, Sovereign Consulting, and served as the Political and Grassroots Director of the Virginia Conservative Action PAC.

Radtke also describes herself as "pro-life" and a supporter of "traditional family values," including marriage between one man and one woman.

"Jamie is a pro-life, small government, constitutional conservative with a God-given sense of moral imperative," said Bob Arment, Chairman of the Louisa County Republican Committee. "By choosing Jamie, Virginia will send a 100 percent pro-life Senator to Washington for the first time in decades."

"I'm pro-life because I fundamentally believe that life begins at conception and that it's God's creation. It shouldn't be destroyed," she said. "As a woman who has had three miscarriages, I know for a fact that those were lives lost. When government starts to devalue life ... is when you see an entire turn in the value system of an entire society."

Radtke describes herself as a Baptist and says her principles play an "important" role in her public life.

"I'm a Christian, and I believe in the Word of God and think the principles there are solid principles," she said. "If your belief system isn't grounded in something, then it's too easy to just continually change who you are and what you believe in. You can make the leap from marriage between a man and woman to gay marriage to multiple marriages."

She cited recent political scandals such as the photo controversies surrounding Reps. Anthony Weiner and Chris Lee and said compromises happen because of a lack of foundation and accountability.

Radtke said that while she was at Liberty University, she interned with former Senator Jesse Helms, and he advised her to always stay accountable. "He said, 'Jamie, the first thing is, I go home every night to my wife. It seems simple but... you can get sucked into that [Capitol Hill] lifestyle.'"

"People often see it as a weakness that you legislate on principle, and they want you to compromise and be what they would call 'pragmatic,'" Radtke said. "If it's an issue of whether we cap spending at 18 percent or 19 percent, I'm willing to compromise on those sorts of issues. But if it's an issue of should we defund Planned Parenthood or should we give money to Planned Parenthood, to me there's no compromise there."

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