FIRST ON FOX: Terry Namkung, a 20-year Air Force veteran running for Congress in Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, raised the alarm about "mind-control poison" infiltrating schools and slamming his opponent, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., for supporting it.

"Leftist congressional leadership like Education Committee Chair Bobby Scott are more concerned with race and gender identity, instead of reading, writing, and arithmetic," Namkung says in the ad, first provided to Fox News Digital. "They are NOT teaching our children HOW to think but WHAT to think."

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"Since the 1960s Leftists have gradually overtaken the education system, spreading their anti-American vision through the destruction of families," the candidate warns. "Bobby Scott believes school choice is racist and supported H.R. 5 which mandates schools & churches to recognize ‘chosen gender’ forcing females to share bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities with biological men who ‘identify’ as women."

Terry Namkung, candidate for Virginia's 3rd Congressional District. (Terry Namkung)

In July 2017, Scott spoke at the release of a report from the Center for American Progress, a report focused on "The Racist Origins of Private School Vouchers." 

"While uncomfortable, it is a historical fact that private school vouchers have been used, most notably in my home state, to purposefully segregate," Scott said in a statement at the time. "It is also a fact that school choice devoid of civil rights protections, accountability, and a priority for diversity often leads to more, not less, racial and socioeconomic segregation."

Scott voted for H.R. 5, also known as "The Equality Act," last February, and he celebrated its passage in the House of Representatives. The bill would ban alleged discrimination on the basis of "sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and the bill's text explicitly states that "The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 shall not provide a claim concerning, or a defense to a claim under, a covered title, or provide a basis for challenging the application or enforcement of a covered title."

From left, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., clap as tennis star Billie Jean King, founder of the Women's Sports Foundation, speaks during the Women's History Month event honoring women athletes in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX in Statuary Hall in the Capitol on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"Career politicians like Bobby Scott are coming for our freedom and using our children to take it," Namkung says in the ad. "By removing God and parental authority, we are losing everything that made this country the most free and successful economic engine in history." 

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"We cannot lose this generation to the mind-control poison that has permeated our schools," the candidate declares. "Our fathers and grandfathers did not die in battle only to lose our freedoms to soul-less Marxism. … We need leaders who love, honor, and respect our nation and are unashamed of its Christian values and traditions. I will be that leader!"

The Cook Political Report rates Virginia's 3rd Congressional District "Solid D," and Democrats have won by sizable majorities there in recent years (Biden won the district, 67%-31%, in 2020 and Terry McAuliffe won it 61%-37% in 2021). Even so, a campaign spokesperson insisted that Namkung has a shot.

Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin gives remarks at a campaign rally at the Danville Community Market on October 26, 2021, in Danville, Virginia. … Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe speaks at a campaign event featuring U.S. VIce President Kamala Harris October 21, 2021, in Dumfries, Virginia. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images  |  Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"With a candidate like Terry Namkung on the ticket, this seat becomes immediately competitive for Republicans," Liam Gray, the campaign spokesperson, told Fox News. "We saw last November how dissatisfied Virginians are with far left policies, especially when it comes to education. Rep. Scott, as Chairman of the Committee on Education, has a lot to answer for. Under his watch we’ve seen radicalized school curriculums, unnecessary shutdowns, and plummeting performance in our schools."

In November 2021, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe, campaigning on parental rights in education amid rising concern about critical race theory and transgenderism in schools. 

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"Everyone watching American politics across the country right now understands a red wave is coming, and with that wave we should all expect some big upsets similar to what we saw across the Commonwealth last November," Gray added. "As a veteran with over 20 years of service, and endorsements ranging from BlakPAC to General Flynn, Terry is exactly the type of candidate that can speak to Virginia’s 3rd District and win in November."