A group of business leaders, community activists, and regular folks sat down with Governor Warner yesterday at D’Egg Diner in Downtown Norfolk.
“I wanted to hear a little bit from y’all about what you’re dealing with,” Governor Warner said.
Our campaign manager, Mike Henry, sent out this email on Saturday after the debate, summarizing Governor Warner’s solid performance. We were all proud of the Governor for holding his own and laying out a real agenda for real results in Washington.
The first debate took place this morning at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. Here is our fact check report from the debate, which highlights the mischaracterizations that were made.
Governor Warner stopped by Staunton yesterday, spending a very warm summer day promoting arts and culture in the Valley.
He stopped by the Dixie Theater, which will soon be turned into a performing arts center thanks to funds his administration allocated to the community, and Blackfriars Playhouse, home of the American Shakespeare Center. He finished up at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, where he admired the Wilson presidential limo and toured the inside before he serving ice cream and joining an egg relay with local Girl Scouts.
The Staunton News Leader covered his trip:
When resident Kitty Dozier told him that she loved him as governor and will love him in a new position, he kissed her on the cheek. “I thought he was a wonderful governor,” Dozier said afterwards. “He did so much for the state of Virginia.”In an address that praised Staunton’s downtown revitalization efforts, Warner said Virginia has many special places. “But there are very few places as special as Staunton,” he said.
...
After his speech, Warner toured the Dixie Theatre and Blackfriars Playhouse.
Walking over to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential library, he paused briefly to join a team of children in a relay race.
Carrying an egg in a spoon, Warner made his way carefully back and forth across the lawn before passing off his precarious cargo and touring the museum’s cool interior.
After Warner’s departure, Staunton Democratic Committee Chairman Bob Dickerman described his “energy,” “vitality” and connection to Staunton.
“I think he’s really a genuine friend of this community,” Dickerman said, noting that the regard people have for him was apparent during the visit. “They have a lot of regard and affection for this man.”
The Governor emphasized the arts as a vital part of tourism. He told NBC29:
“Tourism up and down the Valley through Charlottesville is one of our fastest growing industries. We combine beautiful outside opportunities, we combine a growing wine industry, great historic sites and then we add the cultural component and you’ve got everything a potential visitor could need,” he said.
Here are pictures from the stop:
We’re launching a new television ad today that highlights our ‘portfolio approach’ to fixing our nation’s energy crisis. Governor Warner knows that the only was we can lower our gas prices is by pursuing several different options, including investing in new energy technologies that are being developed right here in Virginia.
Here’s what Governor Warner had to say:
“If Virginians give me an opportunity to represent them in the U.S. Senate, I will work in a bipartisan way to enact a balanced ‘portfolio approach’ that simultaneously tackles our country’s energy crisis on several fronts, and will decrease our dependence on foreign oil,” Governor Warner said.
Here is the ad:
Today, we’re launching a new website that we hope becomes a resource for you as you keep up with our campaign.
WarnerWire.com is a site that will keep you informed on the latest news and blog posts that are written about our campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Here’s what our campaign manager, Mike Henry, wrote in an email to our supporters this morning:
There are so many blogs and news outlets covering Mark Warner’s Senate race that sometimes it’s tough to keep up. That’s why today, we’re rolling out WarnerWire.com, a place you can go to find the best, most up-to-date information on Mark’s campaign.From debate coverage and on-the-road campaign news, to political cartoons and online contests, WarnerWire.com will give you the tools you need to stay informed.
Click Here to Visit WarnerWire.com. Then Bookmark it On Your Browser.
Folks across the Commonwealth are beginning to see through our opponent’s claims that increased domestic oil drilling will magically solve our energy crisis. From newspaper editorial boards to a legendary Texas oilman who made his fortune in oil, an increasing number of people recognize that “drill here/drill now” is not a real solution.
Increasing our domestic production of oil and gas is simply one tool among many that could help address America’s long-term reliance on foreign oil. Governor Warner supports allowing exploration for oil and gas offshore, but he recognizes that’s only one part of a broader plan that includes cracking-down on oil speculators, promoting telecommuting and conservation, and aggressively pursuing development of clean, renewable energy sources—like wind, solar, biofuels, clean coal and nuclear.
This morning, two significant Virginia editorial pages sharply criticized our opponent’s simplistic “drill here/drill now” strategy:
The Bristol Herald Courier wrote:
No serious thinker, outside of partisan political circles, believes this is the case. Even the government’s own reports indicate that drilling in ANWR will have minimal impact on gasoline prices. Increased offshore oil production could have a greater effect on prices, but it won’t be immediate, according to the Department of Energy.
The Roanoke Times also weighed in:
He also knows that it’s a matter of supply and demand. So instead of understanding the complexities of dwindling oil supplies and quickly rising global demand, then working on ways to reduce U.S. demand, candidate Drillmore frames it this way: Pump more oil. ... Even if Drillmore hoodwinks voters into sending him to the Senate, and even if he finds enough like-minded members of Congress and a president to agree with his scheme, and even if oil companies set right to work exploring offshore and draining ANWR, prices at the pump are not going to budge.
To see more facts about how domestic drilling for oil will not solve our energy challenges, check out our fact check section.
Here is some video of Governor Warner at the Dale City and Fairfax City Parades on the Fourth of July.
Governor Warner’s Fourth of July started in Dale City, where he “walked” down Dale Blvd., greeting hundreds of supporters along the way.
For those of you who have ever seen Mark Warner participate in a parade, “walk” is an understatement. Governor Warner loves meeting folks during parades and typically runs along both sides of the road trying to shake as many hands as possible.
“You can’t say that I’m not working hard for this Senate seat!” he said throughout the day as he ran through two parades and two festivals.
We had a tremendous turnout of volunteers, both in the parades and among the crowds. Hundreds of Dale City residents proudly wore Mark Warner for Senate stickers and held up rally signs along the way. When we joined the Fairfax City Parade afterward, loud cheers greeted Governor Warner as he raced to catch up to the volunteers that were holding up signs and passing out stickers.
In the heat and despite the sweat, the crowd’s enthusiasm really gave us all a second wind as we tried to keep up with Governor Warner in these parades.
After the Fairfax City Parade, we added a stop at Fairfax City Hall, where event organizers hosted a lunch with parade volunteers and staff. Then we stopped by the second annual Central Labor Council barbeque. After that, we stopped by Vienna’s Fourth of July Festival before ending the day in Manassas.
On Saturday, Governor Warner stopped by the Filipino-American Festival in Virginia Beach before going to the Hanover Tomato Festival in Mechanicsville.
Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support in the parade and special thanks to all the volunteers and staff who gave us such a strong presence at parades and festival across the Commonwealth.
We’ll have video of the parades up shortly, but in the meantime, take a look at these pictures from this weekend.
Our campaign will be out and about all across the state this weekend at various events celebrating our Independence.
Here is where Governor Warner will be this weekend. In addition to these events, we’ll have campaign staff and volunteers as the Fourth of July festivals and parades across Virginia. Make sure to stop by and say hi!
The Sun Gazette Newspapers, a local newspaper group that covers jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, came “out of the gate early” and endorsed Mark Warner for U.S. Senate. They said their decision was a no-brainer>
Warner is far superior to Gilmore both in competence and temperament. As governor, despite a rocky first two years, he learned from his mistakes and emphasized an agenda that did not leave out the most needy in the commonwealth while it still pushed for economic growth.
Citing Mark Warner’s record of support during the state's budget crunch and his bipartisan leadership during natural disasters and public safety crises, six of Virginia’s best-known law enforcement officials endorsed Governor Warner’s bid for the U.S. Senate.
At a press conference at the State Capital in Richmond, Governor Warner announced endorsements from a bipartisan group of veteran public safety leaders with a combined 186 years of law enforcement experience, including:
· Col. Gerald Massengill,
a former Superintendent of Virginia State Police and chairman of the Virginia
Tech Review Panel;
· Sheriff Robert McCabe of Norfolk, president
of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association;
· Chief Mark Marshall of
Smithfield and a vice president of the International Association of Chiefs
of Police;
· Chief Garth Wheeler, the chief of police at J.
Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond and a former four-time president
of the Fraternal Order of Police.
He also received the endorsements of Sheriff Paul Lanteigne and Sheriff Gabe Morgan. Watch their endorsements here:
As
governor, Mark Warner made sure to prioritize the state's scarce budget resources
to meet our basic responsibility to ensure public safety. His tax reform initiative
allowed the state to help fund salaries for local police departments and sheriff's
deputies, and his support gave the Virginia State Police the ability to recruit
and train 439 new state troopers during his four years in office.
After 9/11, Governor Warner was the first governor in the nation to appoint a cabinet-level state official dedicated to homeland security and convened a task force that offered 150 recommendations to improve the state's homeland security. He also helped improve first responder capabilities by significant investments in the Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS).
He also initiated a statewide AMBER Alert System and was named by the National Council Against Drunk Driving as the nation's "Unsung Hero" for his push for tougher anti-drunk driving laws. He is also credited with making it more difficult for meth manufactures to misuse over-the-counter decongestants.
We've seen a number of Letters to the Editor published over the last week from citizens across the Commonwealth praising Governor Warner for his energy plan.
On Sunday, this letter from Jim David ran in the Daily Press:
The pursuit of clean, independent energy represents an historic opportunity to simultaneously promote our national security and improve the environment. That Mark Warner understands this is one of the many reasons he should be the next U.S. senator from Virginia.Under the headline "Warner's Energy Plan Is Smarter Than Gilmore's," Steven M. Morris from Glen Allen was featured in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Compare Gilmore's thoughtless posturing to the thoughtful, forward-looking energy solutions offered by his opponent for the U.S. Senate, Mark Warner. Warner's energy ideas will create green jobs and wean us off of our dependency on oil -- especially the oil purchased from countries led by blatantly anti-American leaders, not just in the Middle East, but also in Venezuela, our own backyard. ... And I don't think I'm the only Virginia voter who prefers intelligent solutions from someone I trust like Warner over the cheap election-year slogans of someone I don't, like Gilmore.And in last week's Free Lance-Star Katie Deabler of Stafford said:
It would take approximately 10 years for drilling in either of these areas to affect our gas prices even the slightest bit. Additionally, drilling in these areas could cause irreparable damage to the environment in and around drilling sites. ... While Mr. Gilmore has proposed outdated, unrealistic answers to our problems with gas prices, Mark Warner supports viable, environmentally friendly solutions. By supporting greater tax credits on hybrid vehicles, Mr. Warner works to make fuel-efficient vehicles more realistic for the average buyer.The consensus seems to be that Governor Warner's energy plan is more pragmatic than other energy plans that are being offered. Governor Warner focuses on real energy solutions that will help wean us off foreign oil while expanding our research and technology capabilities, creating new jobs, and saving the planet along the way. To find out more information about Governor Warner's energy solutions, click here.
Alexandria, Va. —Former Governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Mark R. Warner issued the following statement on today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on the District of Columbia’s handgun ban:
“I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, and I am pleased this ruling reaffirms the important constitutional right of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves.”
Over the weekend, we released a new video montage of Governor Warner's most recent Hometown Day visit to Appomattox and Bedford Counties. While he was there, he chaired the state's Broadband Roundtable, visited Main Street Appomattox, and honored our veterans at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford.
As you can see from the video, Governor Warner has support for all kinds of folks all across Virginia. Having a strong presence across the commonwealth is important for this campaign and is necessary in helping us bring some Virginia-style independence and results to Washington.
Help our campaign all across Virginia by signing up to staff an event. Click here to select your region and sign up to represent our campaign at an festival or event near you.
