What issues will drive you to vote when early voting gets underway in just a few weeks?
I sat down with Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to hear what they'd aim to deliver for Virginians if elected the state's next governor.
I asked the current Lt. Governor: what are the most pressing issues facing Virginians?
Earle-Sears responded, "I mean, none of the good things that we want to have happen in Virginia happen unless you are safe in your communities. Your children are safe to walk down the street. We lock up—if you're a criminal, I'm sorry, you got to go. If your drugs that you sell cause the people to die... fentanyl poisoning, we're going to lock you up."
I asked Spanberger the same question, to which she responded: "I'm running to focus on the challenges that community members are facing, whether it's affordability issues at the pharmacy counter, the grocery store, the housing market, whether it's ensuring our kids have all the opportunities that we want them to have, safe schools, and a quality education."
Earle-Sears believes school choice is a big education issue. She said, "People have told us... that they want to be able to choose where they send their children to school. So whether it's public school, private school, parochial school, home-school."
Spanberger has been campaigning hard on a primary, key theme: "The most consistent issue that I hear across every corner of the Commonwealth relates to affordability. In many parts of the state, housing supply is not what we need it to be, and it means that the market is constricted and prices are driven up," she said.
I also spoke to the candidates about their stances on labor unions. Earle-Sears shared, "We have to protect the right to work, meaning that... it shouldn't be that you're forced to join a union. That means in order to get the job, you have to pay union dues, and in order to keep the job, you have to pay union dues."
Spanberger has taken a little heat for her stance on the issue. She stated, "I've been very clear: I support labor, I support organized labor, and I also don't support a full repeal of the Right to Work statute... Many people I am disappointing, and many people are pleased with my position."
Earle-Sears questions Spanberger's position on this issue, commenting during our interview: "So, she's trying to reinvent herself."
But Spanberger is standing by her position, stating, "I am also clear on the fact that I support Virginia workers. I support a minimum wage increase, I support a whole array of provisions that will ensure... that Virginians who are working every day, that their rights are respected and that they have strong protections in the labor market."
A position that Earle-Sears is criticizing, "She wants to raise the minimum wage. Well, I want you to create generational wealth. You're never going to be able to do that on any minimum wage."
The race is already getting national attention: For the first time in Virginia's history, both major party's gubernatorial nominees are women. I'll have my interviews with what the two candidates are saying—or perhaps, what they're not saying—about the high-profile match-up on Thursday, July 17 online and on News 3 at 6.
