It’s not often that Washington’s politicos rub elbows with country folks in any meaningful way, but Republican fundraiser Sara Bonjean has found a path — over home grown veggies.

Bonjean, who with her husband Ron, splits time between Alexandria, Va., and the rural Hillsboro-Purcellville, Va. area, 50 miles away, has been mastering her gardening and canning since growing up in Wyoming. “It’s been a lifelong pursuit,” she said.

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Bonjean, who owns Rose Strategies, thought she hit pay dirt a few years ago growing zucchinis and she entered them in the Loudoun County Fair in nearby Leesburg. Hers was the only entry that won zilch.

This week she tried again and topped her county neighbors to win a blue ribbon for her Early Girl tomatoes and another for sweet pickled beets. Her cucumbers took second place.

“Way to go my Tomato Queen!! Who won today? America,” said her husband on Facebook.

“I was really surprised,” confessed Sara Bonjean, who overcame the Spring’s mix of floods and drought. “Gardening, like working in Washington, takes patience, drinks and a little bit of sunshine to be successful,” she added.