Gov. Bob McDonnell came to Lynchburg on Thursday to encourage loyal Republicans to write more checks for state Senate candidate Tom Garrett in his race against Democrat Bert Dodson for the new 22nd District seat.
“I need some help next year” in the General Assembly, McDonnell said, referring to the Republican Party’s plan to win a majority in the Senate and carry out his full agenda.
“There are a number of things that we still need to get done, and it will be a heck of a lot easier to get it done if Tom Garrett is in there,” McDonnell told about 110 supporters at an Oakwood Country Club breakfast.
Lynchburg was McDonnell’s first stop on a day of fundraising events for candidates in Franklin County, Roanoke and Southwest Virginia. He stayed after his remarks and talked with audience members for about half an hour.
McDonnell listed several items on his legislative agenda for 2012, including:
Cutting spending, killing unfunded mandates that crunch local governments, making the Virginia Retirement System solvent, “doing some additional work on transportation,” and “truly reforming our K-12 education system so we can have results and have choice and have accountability,” the governor said.
“A lot is at stake right now,” McDonnell told the crowd. “We have got a unique opportunity. There have only been two years since the Civil War that we’ve had a Republican governor and a Republican legislature,” in 2000-01.
“I say it’s about time to do that again, don’t you?” McDonnell said, drawing applause.
McDonnell said he and the Republican Party leadership have invested $200,000 in Garrett’s campaign, and they plan to spend more on Garrett in the final 17 days before the Nov. 8 election.
Garrett was among the top five Senate candidates receiving financial help from the Republican Party, according to campaign finance reports through September. The data was reported by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in state politics.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement