McAuliffe, Youngkin clash on COVID, abortion, taxes

Candidates for Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe (left) and Glenn Youngkin at a debate Sept. 28.

Candidates for governor Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin clashed on COVID, the economy, abortion, and much more at a debate Sept. 28 hosted by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate, took on the role of an incumbent, in light of his previous term as governor in 2014-18. 

Youngkin, the Republican challenger, questioned McAuliffe’s legacy, while McAuliffe called his opponent a “Trump wanna-be” and far-right extremist who is pretending to be a moderate in Northern Virginia.

Youngkin acknowledged that if Trump runs for president in 2024, “I will support him.”

The biggest fireworks during the debate came when Princess Blanding, who’s on the ballot representing the Liberation Party, disrupted the event. She stood up from her seat in the audience and demanded to be on the stage. “This is not democracy,” she yelled as several police officers escorted her out of the auditorium. 

Related story: Early in-person voting underway

During the debate, held at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus, the two main candidates painted a vastly different picture of Virginia’s economy and how they would promote prosperity. 

Taxes and spending

According to Youngkin, the state has fallen behind economically, the schools are failing, and crime is rising. He promised to cut taxes and create 400,000 new jobs. 

Youngkin said people are moving out of the state because taxes are too high and claimed the state’s economy is growing more slowly than that of surrounding states. 

When McAuliffe began his first term as governor, “I inherited an economy in chaos,” he said. The previous governor, a Republican, left a deficit, while McAuliffe ended his term with a huge surplus. 

He said Youngkin’s plan to slash taxes would devastate the economy, leading to big cuts in education and law enforcement. It would result in cutting 43,000 teachers, including 3,000 in Fairfax County, he said. 

McAuliffe vowed to create 120,000 new jobs, invest $2 billion in education, raise the minimum wage to $16, provide universal prekindergarten, and bring healthcare costs down. But, he said, “none of this works if we don’t defeat COVID.” 

The pandemic

While Youngkin said “everyone should get the vaccine” because “it’s the best way to keep people safe,” he also said, “I don’t think we should mandate it.” He opposes policies that call for employers to fire people who refuse to be vaccinated. 

Youngkin “goes on right-wing radio and tells supporters if you don’t want the vaccine, don’t get it,” McAuliffe charged. “That is disqualifying. We need leadership, not a Trump wanna-be.” 

According to McAuliffe, Youngkin doesn’t believe teachers and nurses – even nurses who treat chemo patients – need to be vaccinated and doesn’t believe students should have to wear masks at school. 

In response, Youngkin said whether to get a COVID vaccine should be a “personal choice.” 

Abortion

Both candidates called the other’s position on abortion extreme. 

“I am pro-life,” Youngkin said, noting he supports a “pain threshold bill” that would ban abortion after 20 weeks. 

McAuliffe reminded the audience that Youngkin was caught on a video where he said talking about abortion during the campaign would make it hard to get elected but, as governor, he would work to ban abortions and defund Planned Parenthood.

McAuliffe said he supports the commonwealth’s current law on abortion, which is supported by 80 percent of Virginians and a majority of Republicans. 

Corporations won’t relocate to a state that discriminates against women, he said. “People are tired of men like Youngkin telling them what to do with their body.” 

Election integrity

The moderator, Chuck Todd of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” asked Youngkin about making election integrity a top campaign priority when there was just one case of voter fraud.

Youngkin agreed that the election was fair, but said he plans to invest in the election process to make sure elections are safe. 

“Election integrity is all he talks about. He said it is the most important issue facing Virginia,” McAuliffe countered. He accused Youngkin of following the Trump playbook, noting he was endorsed by Trump four times and is “bought and paid for by Donald Trump.”     

Third-party candidate Princess Blanding (standing, on the right) demands to be included in the debate, as other people try to get her to sit down and be quiet.

Crime 

While Younkin claimed the murder rate in Virginia hit an all-time high over the last 20 years and crime rose 43 percent when McAuliffe was governor, McAuliffe said the state had the lowest crime rate of every major state during his term.

“To keep people safe you’ve got to keep guns off the street,” McAuliffe said, accusing Youngkin of supporting efforts to “roll back all commonsense gun protections.” 

According to McAuliffe, Youngkin’s proposal to cut taxes would result in defunding the police. 

Gender equity

When it comes to policies to protect transgender students, Youngkin said decisions about restrooms should be made by local school districts and should include safety, privacy, and parent engagement. “I believe parents should be in charge of kids’ education,” he said. 

“Why people want to demonize children I just don’t understand,” McAuliffe said. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what to do.” Considering what they went through with the pandemic, “teachers are real heroes and deserve our respect.”   

Climate change

McAuliffe proposes Virginia have 100 percent clean energy by 2035. “I want to see Virginia lead America out of this crisis,” he said, calling for boosting green manufacturing, for such things as wind turbines, in the state. 

Youngkin warned the focus on clean energy “will turn Virginia into California,” with more blackouts on the horizon.              

Affordable housing 

Youngkin’s plan for affordable housing involves making it easier to get permits and reducing the regulatory burden on businesses. 

For McAuliffe, increasing the investment in the state’s housing trust fund will be a top priority. To increase the supply of affordable housing, he would work with local governments on zoning and would provide incentives to builders.