Seven of the nine GOP contenders were present at a Summer Jamboree on June 2, hosted by the Loudoun County Republican Committee in Purcellville, Virginia. The event at Purcellville’s historic Bush Tabernacle allowed voters to meet the candidates while enjoying BBQ, line dancing, and corn hole.
However, Parkinson said his years of economic experience make him the best person to run against Kaine. Parkinson serves as vice president of Government Affairs at the Club for Growth, a free-enterprise advocacy group.
“My background is very steeped in economic policy,” said Parkinson. Besides DeSantis, he has worked for two U.S. senators and served as the executive director of the Republican Study Committee.
Kaine’s Far-Left Voting Record
Parkinson told The Epoch Times the high inflation the United States is experiencing is largely “because of the legislation that Tim Kaine voted for. It’s because of the Biden stimulus; because of the Green New Deal that they call the Inflation Reduction Act.”Other candidates agreed with Parkinson on Kaine’s voting record.
Vitiello stressed the importance of exposing Kaine’s voting record to Virginia voters, “so they see him as he truly is when he votes versus what he says about the issues.”
Emord served as an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission during the Reagan administration and is a leading constitutional law and litigation expert.
Given the political climate—the rewriting of history by groups like the 1619 Project, the teaching of critical race theory, and outright slander of the U.S. Constitution that are going on in U.S. schools—Emord’s experience and knowledge of the founding document are invaluable, he said.
“I have the most federal experience of anyone who’s running and also academic prowess in constitutional law, [which] I think is critically important today,” Emord said.
The Epoch Times reached out to Kaine’s office for comment about his voting record.
Loudoun County parent Phuong Stecker said she will be voting for Emord.
“What I always look for is somebody who has a plan. Not to tell me everything I know,” said Stecker. “I know what the problem is. I know where I want it to be, and how it needs to be fixed, but how do you get to me from A to B?”
Safety and Security
Vitiello told The Epoch Times no one else in the GOP primary has more experience with border security than he does. Vitiello spent three decades in the federal government, first as chief of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), then as CBP’s acting deputy commissioner, and finally as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director.Further, after having dealt with a multi-billion-dollar budget and worked with Congress, Vitiello said he knows how to conduct vigorous oversight.
Emord said he will prioritize finishing the border wall, changing asylum laws, and hiring more state police and national guard, by invoking article one, section 10 of the Constitution—the state self-defense laws.
Stecker said she is also very concerned about the historic level of illegal immigrants entering the United States. While she does not blame the illegal immigrants themselves, she does blame the open border policies of the Biden administration.
“I came here myself as an immigrant when I was younger, [but I am worried about] the influx of people who have no interest in this country except milking off of the benefits and the job opportunities,” said Stecker.
Protecting children from gun violence is just as important as border security to Parkinson, who is a father of four young children.
Teaching Love for America
“We’re letting people know that we are America first. We believe in the country. We believe that we live in the best nation in the world,” said Smith. “All countries have had problems, but we cannot burn down our own country.”
Fairfax County resident and Republican activist Fredy Burgos told The Epoch Times that he will be voting for Smith because he is an “uncompromisingly” America First candidate. Besides that, Burgos said he appreciates Smith’s experience leading GOP grassroots efforts.
“Trump will have an ally in the U.S. Senate. More importantly, the American people will have an ally,” said Burgos.
Emord also stressed that American students must be taught the accurate history of the United States, in contrast to comments like that made earlier this year by Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton. Holton sparked controversy with her statement that the Declaration and the Constitution are “fundamental in enshrining slavery.”
“This is propaganda and it’s absurd. The historical basis for that is non-existent propaganda,“ said Emord. It is a ”perversion of the greatness of America” that has caused the left to disrespect and even hate America, he said.
“I didn’t make excuses,” said Smith. He said he believes that Americans must stand up against cancel culture and “wokeism.”
Emord plans to introduce legislation to prohibit critical race theory and the “stigmatizing of people based on race and based on color.”
“The point is,” he added, “that there’s no room for racism in this country.”
The government needs to make sure all federal agencies, including schools and the military, are following the laws set forth in the Constitution, Emord said. “We'll do that by cutting off funding to any institution that is funded by the federal government that engages in racism: public schools, departments in the military, government agencies. So that’s how serious[ly] I want this to be taken.”
She believes the majority of Virginians are tired of “wokeness” and the progressive left, of which Kaine is a part.
The State of Public Education
Rick and Wendy Delatorre, who live in Loudoun County, told The Epoch Times they are very concerned about the state of Loudoun County Public Schools. Alleged student assault coverups, transgender policies that allow staff to keep secrets from parents, and drug overdoses in schools, are all things that concern the couple.“If we had kids today that were school age, we would probably have them in private schools. Because it’s just completely unrecognizable what’s happening in Loudoun County,” said Rick Delatorre.
Wendy said she left teaching about six years ago because of budget cuts. She said she feels that decisions affecting students and teachers are being made by a small group of people, whether it be parents or politicians.
“There is always an agenda that is being driven by a select group of people. Sometimes it’s politicians, sometimes it’s a small group of parents, but I didn’t feel that was serving the majority of students,” Wendy said.
Election Integrity
The Delatorres said they have grave concerns about the state of elections throughout the United States, and think a photo ID should be mandatory for voters. They also have concerns about the length of early voting.“It increases the odds for people to doubt the election results,” said Rick. “If half of America doesn’t believe that the winner really won, we’ve got a serious problem.”
“That means that we’ve got to look at the process and make sure that the process is fair, it’s clean, and no one can claim otherwise. Until that gets fixed, I think our democracy is in jeopardy,” Rick added.
Our election system is too relaxed, Emord said. Election integrity efforts must ensure that only lawful U.S. citizens vote and have proper ID.
“We need to bring the confidence in our election system back into the American heartland,” said Vitiello, citing allegations that big tech, mainstream media, and government colluded to influence the 2020 election.
“We know there are folks playing games. It may not be playing games at the ballot box, but they’re surely hiding the ball from average citizens,” Vitiello said.
Stecker is also extremely concerned about election integrity.
“That’s my number one thing. If we can’t secure our votes, nothing matters anymore; none of the issues matter anymore,” said Stecker. “I’m seeing that the Democrats are not even bothered campaigning much. Why are they so confident?”
Stecker was told by a friend who recently quit the Loudoun County Election Board that there are holes in Loudoun County’s voting system, which is very concerning, she said.
Uniting Americans
“We need to bring opportunities back to the regular working class, the regular forgotten class of America,” Garcia said during the June 2 event.
Garcia said he is the best candidate to debate Kaine and called the senator out on his policies.
Garcia believes he can bring the parties together to solve important issues. Americans who value freedom, family, and putting people before politics need to vote for him, he said.
Santos Munoz said he decided to volunteer for Garcia’s campaign because he feels the candidate can bridge the divide between right and left. Munoz believes people are looking for a candidate who is not “toxic” and shares their values.
“I think it’s any kind of person [Garcia’s base], that whether they identify as conservative or not, they keep virtues and ideals that transcend that political line between conservative and liberals. I think those things are bigger than that,” said Munoz.
Money Will Be the Deciding Factor
According to Ballotpedia, as of March 2023, Kaine had $4,826,565 cash on hand for his 2024 Senate race, in sharp contrast to his GOP rivals.As of March, Emord had $194,773, Garcia had $9,645, Hickman had $5,247, Smith had $26,863, and Lowe had $439 cash on hand for the 2024 race. Parkinson’s and Vitiello’s funding data was not available,
Smith told The Epoch Times he was certain that he could beat Kaine on policy, but money could be the deciding factor in winning the 2024 race, as the Virginia Republican Committee and the Republican National Committee will only fund candidates after the primary.
“If we raise the money, we compete,” Smith said.
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