Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie waves to onlookers as he walks along Magnolia Avenue in Buena Vista during the annual Buena Vista Labor Day Parade on Monday. Gillespie criticized his opponent, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, for skipping the event.
Ralph Northam, the Democratic candidate for governor greets Sarah Wilson of Lexington during the Buena Vista Democratic Committee’s Breakfast with Virginia Democrats on Monday at Parry McCluer High School.
BUENA VISTA — The fall campaign season for Virginia politics stepped off Monday at the annual Labor Day Parade and Festival, but the top of the Democratic ticket was largely absent.
Republican candidates and supporters made much of the change from past years.
“I’m sorry Lt. Gov. [Ralph] Northam decided not to be here today and broke a longstanding bipartisan tradition,” GOP candidate for governor Ed Gillespie said in a speech following the parade. “I am glad to be here with you today.”
If elected, Gillespie promised to focus on economic growth and boosting prosperity by reducing taxes. He was joined by Jill Vogel, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, and John Adams, who is running for attorney general.
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, said his party attended the Buena Vista celebration because “they care about the working people.”
Northam, the Democratic nominee for governor, attended a 7:30 a.m. breakfast sponsored by the Buena Vista Democratic Committee, but skipped the parade and speeches.
Democratic hopefuls Justin Fairfax, candidate for lieutenant governor, and Mark Herring, incumbent attorney general, also attended the breakfast, but left before the parade. The group traveled in helicopters and had previously released a Labor Day schedule of events planned across the state.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, joined them at the breakfast. Deeds stayed for the parade, held within the district he represents.
Northam was asked at the breakfast what he would say to people in Buena Vista, who wouldn’t see him at Monday’s other events.
“It’s all about our economy, and we’ve done a lot of great work over the years — again, bringing in 200,000 jobs,” Northam said of his work with democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. “Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. We’re going to put a lot of focus on rural Virginia.”
Old Dominion voters will go to the polls on Nov. 7 in what is widely regarded as a referendum on the first months of Republican Donald Trump’s presidency. Virginia was the only Southern state Trump lost in 2016.
The Buena Vista parade and speeches by both parties are a long tradition leading up to the November election. But the public events Monday were dominated by the GOP in a city that hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since 1996.
Republican signs lined the parade route and covered the grounds of Glen Maury Park. Inside the park pavilion, where candidates gave their stump speeches, Republican supporters held signs that read “No Show Northam” and chanted the phrase between speakers.
Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, gave a stump speech at the post-parade festival. Rasoul, at one point having to speak over Republican chanting, called for unity and a return to the “Virginia way” of commonsense cooperation. Rasoul — who lost Buena Vista to Goodlatte in the 2008 U.S. House election by a wide margin — said voters want politicians who will work across the aisle to do what’s best for the commonwealth.
But for some independents, it’s about trust. “I vote for the person,” said Missy Brown of Buena Vista, who attended the parade with her dog, a shih tzu named Prince. “I try to vote for whoever is going to do the best job.”
Brown — who described herself as a Democrat-turned-independent — said she was still on the fence about who she would support for governor.
“I’m just looking for an honest person,” she added.
Asked what message Democratic candidates were sending by skipping the parade, Brown said: “Not a very good one.”
But some Democrats defended the decision to campaign in other parts of the commonwealth.
“I think it’s important for people to look at what the candidates are going to do for you, not whether they marched,” said Pat Thomas, a Rockbridge County Democrat.
Thomas pointed to issues such as health insurance. Those with good, full-time jobs have coverage, but if they lose their jobs, they lose their access to health care, she said.
The Democratic candidates all expressed support Monday for the expansion of Medicaid to cover the poorest Virginians under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.
Vogel and other Republicans said they would support policies that expand medical coverage through increased competition in the insurance market.
Libertarian candidate for governor Cliff Hyra also spoke at the event. He called for legalization of marijuana, deregulation to boost business and an end to eminent domain in the commonwealth.
