In tone and in substance, Virginia GOP Senate candidate Corey A. Stewart differed starkly from the man he’s trying to unseat, Sen. Tim Kaine, during a candidates’ forum Friday at Virginia Tech.
Stewart, who has modeled his campaign[1] on that of President Trump — despite Trump’s unpopularity in the state — decried “the cult of political correctness” that he said has taken over university campuses, the government and the media. He urged those who attended the forum in Blacksburg to leave the “cult” — “as soon as possible” — and warned that free speech is “under threat today.”
Kaine, a popular former governor and lieutenant governor who was Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick in 2016[2], said he does not think division within the country is “as bad as it seems.”
“I see a lot of common ground,” Kaine said, smiling as he praised the “civility” of Virginians he meets on the campaign trail — even those who he said strongly disagree with him.
Kaine holds a comfortable lead over Stewart in most polls, including a 17-point margin in a poll[3] released earlier this week by Roanoke College, which found 51 percent supporting Kaine and 34 percent backing Stewart.
The Democrat also has a massive financial edge over the Republican. Kaine raised $18.2 million to Stewart’s $1.1 million, according to reports filed at the end of June.
Both candidates gave opening statements and fielded questions from the audience during the hour-long forum, which was moderated by the Collegiate Times[4], the student newspaper at Virginia Tech. The questions, which audience members could text to moderators, touched on subjects from how Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board
