Democrats and Republicans took advantage of the large crowd at the African American Cultural Arts Festival in Charlottesville on Saturday.
Former Republican Senator George Allen and 5th District Democratic congressional candidate John Douglass were both pushing for votes at Charlottesville's Booker T. Washington Park.
For Allen, the campaign stop comes a day after he spoke to the Virginia Farm Bureau in Lynchburg.
If elected, Allen says he will support agricultural business, making sure farmers have affordable insurance for natural disasters like the drought, instead of trying to get government assistance.
The former governor is also pushing for the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax, which he calls the "death tax".
"So many family farms have to be busted up and subdivided just to pay taxes. And if you have a smaller farm, it means it's less efficient and you can't get that same profitability," said Allen.
He also addressed his performance during last week's Senate debate against opponent Tim Kaine, expressing his satisfaction.
"Well we got what we wanted to get out of it. We adduced the testimony that we wanted, and I think people do see there really is a big difference," said Allen.
Meanwhile, Douglass says he is still waiting for a chance to debate Republican Congressman Robert Hurt, saying his office has dodged his five requests.
"I don't think he's eager to get up there on the stage with me and answer the tough questions…Why did he vote against the highway bill, which creates thousands of jobs in Virginia?" asked Douglass.
The Hurt campaign sent the following statement to NBC29:
"We welcome John Douglass to the 5th District and to the debate for the future of our country. The contrasting visions between Robert and Mr. Douglass could not be greater. Robert has a clear record of promoting jobs through less government, less taxes, and more freedom as well as promoting lower gas prices through a responsible domestic energy policy. Mr. Douglass, on the other hand, has made no secret of his strong support for the President's takeover of our healthcare, which has resulted in a $1.76 trillion tax increase on 5th District small businesses and families.
Robert takes his responsibility as a representative for the people of the 5th District very seriously and looks forward to balancing the time required to perform his primary duty in Congress with the demands of this important election."
Tim Kaine's campaign sent the following statement to NBC29:
"George Allen's all cuts approach to the budget would devastate programs
and assistance important to Virginia farmers. While Tim Kaine will
bring all sides together to take a balanced approach to our fiscal
challenges, George Allen affirmed he would reject even a compromise of
ten dollars in cuts to every one dollar in revenue. Virginians don't
need another partisan in Washington who will promote gridlock at the
expense of Virginia families and businesses. We look forward to continuing that discussion until November and are
confident voters will choose the proven record and approach of Tim
Kaine."
Democratic candidate John Douglass (left) Republican George Allen (right)
