NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — It’s the Labor Day push to November — an annual Labor Day cookout at Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott’s home in Newport News.
The event always doubles as a political rally, and for 2025, a big focus was on the Virginia governor’s race and the massive spending bill passed by Congress in July.
Democratic candidate for Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger took to the stage to rally voters. As usual, hundreds of people attended the cookout.
Watch: Spanberger declines CNN's Virginia governor debate invite after Earle-Sears accepts
The cookout also serves as the unofficial beginning of the statewide election campaign season.
“We are going to get to Richmond and roll out plans, in partnership with the General Assembly and through the Governor’s Office, to focus on lowering costs for Virginians," said Spanberger.
She said the 2025 election will have implications beyond Virginia.
Watch: New poll in Virginia governor's race show Spanberger's lead over Earle-Sears shrinking slightly
"We are going to flip not one, not two, but three statewide seats. We are going to set an example for the rest of the country about what is possible," Spanberger emphasized.
Republican candidate for governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, spent time rallying voters Monday at Labor Day events in Southwest Virginia.
News 3 reached out to her campaign and asked what her message is for voters heading into the final two months before Election Day.
The campaign did not get a response by the deadline for this story. The current lieutenant governor talked with News 3’s Kurt Williams in July about what motivated her to run for governor.
“I came back into politics, right, after being gone for 20 years. What would’ve moved me like that? Well, I have a calling," Earle-Sears said.
Back at the cookout, Congressman Scott spent a lot of his time on stage talking about the massive spending bill passed by Congress.
Watch: Get to know the nominees in Virginia's history-making governor's race
“We don’t want Epstein or anybody else to divert attention from what they’re doing with that big, ugly bill," Scott said.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill is expected to add trillions to the federal debt and cause millions of Medicaid recipients to lose their health care.
Scott doesn't believe the bill is all bad, though. He likes the investments it makes in the military, how it allows Pell Grants to be used, and that it allows many people to deduct tips and overtime for their taxable income.
