Kaine addresses Biden's health, 'podunk paper' at Staunton election office opening

STAUNTON – The Democratic Party of Virginia opened a new headquarters in downtown Staunton on Saturday.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine was one of several speakers at the opening, addressing President Joe Biden's health and calls for Biden to resign as the party's presidential nominee. Kaine also criticized his opponent in the Virginia senatorial race, Republican Hung Cao.

An overcast morning, but no rain at the start

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine arrived at the new Staunton office around 10:15 a.m. A press release was not issued until late Friday afternoon by the Kaine campaign. Before then, information on the address was sent only to people who registered online to attend.

The new office is one of six Democratic election headquarters opened in the past week, including Abingdon, Culpeper, Warrenton, Front Royal, and Lynchburg. The Staunton opening was the most recent of the Democratic Coordinated Campaign offices opened, and the first at which Kaine made an appearance.

The rain stayed away long enough for the crowd to gather under the tent and get settled in to hear the candidate's remarks.

Opening remarks from congressional candidate and Virginia Democrat chair

Congressional Candidate Ken Mitchell was the first speaker. Mitchell voiced support for the equal rights amendment, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the LGBTQ community, and limiting the effects of climate change.

“The basic rights and freedoms that we protect and defend as Democrats is at the top of the ticket,” said Mitchell. “Even though the issues may change, what will not change is the need for men and women of character, value, sound judgment and integrity. That's what Biden-Harris bring to it. That's what Senator Tim Kaine brings to it. I'll be brief because I know you're here to hear the senator.”

Democratic Party of Virginia Chairwoman Susan Swecker was the second speaker. She thanked Mitchell for his comments and went on the offensive against his opponent, current Congressman Ben Cline.

“When you're elected to Congress, you're gonna be able to stand there with integrity when our U.S. Senator Tim Kaine delivers a check for, whether it's broadband, airport construction, or whatever, unlike that fraud, Ben Cline, who acts like he did something to get that money here," said Swecker. "We know he didn't. So, thank you very much.”

She celebrated the opening of the Democratic office as the 17th party election headquarters in the state, including three in the sixth congressional district. She also took aim at JD Vance, Trump's recently announced vice presidential running mate and current senator from Ohio.

“JD Vance, I'm for Appalachia, you're not,” Swecker said. “I mean, you know, it's not like the truth matters to those folks. It's not like the truth matters, but it does to us.”

She closed on a round of applause and called Kaine to speak.

Senator Tim Kaine returns to Staunton

Similar to the last time he was in Staunton , Kaine first spoke of his honeymoon in the area and previous career in Richmond politics. Turning to the upcoming November election, Kaine was optimistic and pointed to Democratic campaign spending in Virginia.

“We made the case to the Biden campaign, and they said we're going to make sure that we invest in Virginia," said Kaine. "We don't take you for granted. Virginia's gone blue four times in a row, which would have seemed impossible. We want to go blue five times in a row, and we're going to, right?”

The crowd applauded. Kaine said he wanted to invest the resources in local Virginian organizers, people who would know the pronunciation “difference between Stan-ton and Staun-ton.”

He then endorsed Mitchell, “If you want to know the kind a public servant someone will be, look at what they did before they said, 'I'm going to put my name on it.' What Ken Mitchell has done is serve his country in a patriotic way, and that's the kind of public servant that he's going to be.”

Kaine was 'happy' with the Democratic slate of congressional candidates, particularly hopeful to flip the House of Representatives majority to the Democrats.

Biden's health and a new presidential candidate

Since the June 27 presidential debate , there have been Democratic calls for Biden to step out of the race . Kaine celebrated the diversity of thought among Democrats, even as they disagree. That morning, at the Staunton Farmers' Market, he said one question was on everyone's mind.

“Okay, what about the debate? What about President Biden?” Kaine said they asked. “Let me just tell you this, here's what I would ask of you, and here's what I'm so proud about this team on. We got this.”

Rather than linger on Biden's health, Kaine contrasted Biden and Trump, again calling Trump “the greatest tear-down artist in the history of this county.” He continued to praise Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' policies and accomplishments, such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and a $35 price cap on insulin, a necessary medication for those with diabetes .

Despite this, Kaine also said “obviously we're concerned about President Biden's health.”

Kaine was vocally supportive of both Biden and Harris. Democratic discussions about replacing Biden on the ticket have included Harris as a successor . Whether or not Biden drops out, Kaine said, is up to him.

“I also know this about Joe. If he looks in the mirror one day and says this is the hardest job in the world and it is not something I can say, for four years, I'll just pedal to the metal and do it, he's going to tell us. Because that's exactly the kind of person that Joe Biden is. We don't need to stress about whether the right decision is going to be made. We are going to do what's best for this country. We're going to win this race.”

The News Leader, a 'podunk paper,' back in the news

According to Kaine, Saturday was initially expected to be the day of the first senate candidate debate between him and his Republican challenger, Hung Cao . Kaine said Cao wouldn't debate him because “he's afraid.”

“In 2023, he set up a PAC and he raised over $100,000 to help Governor Youngkin switch both houses of the state legislature from blue to red,” Kaine explained, citing a story from The News Leader's elections reporter . “How much of it did he spend helping others? Zero. He didn't spend one dime, after he shook people down for money and said he was going to use it to help them win legislators. He didn't spend one dime doing that, he instead used it for his own campaign expenses and his own advisors, and then the Republicans ended up losing both houses by one seat. What if he had actually done [it]? I'm actually kind of glad he didn't.”

Rather than answer questions from The News Leader's elections reporter, Cao called The News Leader a "podunk local newspaper" and dodged. Kaine has been critical of Cao's response before , and said Cao would dodge similar questions about abortion access, the millions that would lose health insurance if the Affordable Care Act were repealed, and a controversial potential reorganization of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security .

“You don't debate for yourself, you debate for the voters,” Kaine said. “Because if you want to represent them, then they are entitled to hear what your points of view are and ask you questions and make their own judgments. He does not want to answer the question about why he said the Staunton paper was just a podunk local paper.”

The office is located at 240 N. Central Ave, Suite 1, in downtown Staunton.

Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It’s welcome through email to lbordelon@gannett.com . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com .

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Kaine addresses Biden's health, 'podunk paper' at Staunton election office opening