The Winchester Star - GOP Candidates Rally Supporters In Winchester Area

News Article

By Sally Voth

Two Republicans running in Tuesday's election stopped by Winchester Wednesday morning to mobilize the faithful.

Ed Gillespie, who is running against Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, and Barbara Comstock, who hopes to replace U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-10th, led a get-out-the-vote rally at Comstock's Winchester campaign office, 17 W. Boscawen St.

State Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Upperville, kicked off the rally.

"This is go time," she said. "You're here because you care. You're here because this community has a tremendous vested interest in sending remarkable people to the Capitol to work for us, to work for our families, to work for our finances, to work for our local governments, to work for our schools, and most of all, to work for this community.

"This part of Virginia will make all the difference. We've got to turn out people from here [to vote]."

Winning on Tuesday won't just make Mark Warner a former senator, Gillespie told the crowd.

"Harry Reid will become the former Senate majority leader," he said to cheering. "We can turn things around. It's not too late to get this country back on track. But, it's getting later. And, that's why this election is so important."

Gillespie said Warner has voted to raise taxes by about $1 trillion, and "he's not done yet."

"Are we going to have higher taxes and stagnant wages, or are we going to have tax relief and higher take-home pay?" he asked.

President Barack Obama is "slashing" military spending to pay for the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare, Gillespie said.

He said Obama and Warner have the federal government doing too many things that should be handled by local governments or the private sector, while failing in the functions it should be doing, which include providing for defense, protecting public health and safety and securing the borders.

"When I become your senator…we will get these priorities straight," Gillespie said.

Comstock talked about her goals of raising the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000, getting the Keystone XL pipeline going and repealing the Affordable Care Act.

"We've got ideas to replace Obamacare with," she said. "We have some very strong concerns about the international situation and how we have to turn it around, and we know we can."

Also taking the microphone was U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., an orthopedic surgeon.

"What we believe about health care is that it ought to be patients and families and doctors making medical decisions, not Washington, D.C.," he said. "I'm here because I'm so excited about the individual you're going to send to replace Frank Wolf. Frank has done an incredible job."

Winchester residents Renee and Gerald Bowman attended the rally.

"I thought it was very educational," Renee Bowman said. "There's a lot of truth in it, and I'm going to pray for each one of them as they go into the offices this coming year."

Her husband said, "I hope and pray they vote the Bible according to God's will for the welfare of the United States."

Joe Oakes, of Winchester, thought the rally was "enthusiastic."

"The candidates were both very impressive," he said. "I believe in this area we're very interested in social values. Ed Gillespie and Miss Comstock, from my understanding, they're pro-life, pro-man-woman marriage, and that's good for families and good for our society, ultimately."

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