Mudslinging Ensues in the 31st State Senate District

By Krystle Weeks | Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 | Politics

Political attacks are what one expects to see in a hotly contested campaign, and it should come as no surprise that there is some mudslinging in the race for the 31st State Senate seat between Barbara Favola and Caren Merrick.

Favola’s campaign recently accused Merrick by saying:

“You can tell a lot about a person based on who supports her.  Caren Merrick is supported by the Tea Party, the NRA, and anti-choice extremists who want to chip away at a woman’s right to choose in Virginia. That’s just not what we need in the state senate.”

Additionally, Favola’s negative attacks against Merrick continued throughout the McLean Debate this evening as well.  This should come as no surprise, since Favola campaigned negatively throughout the Democratic primary against her opponent, Jaime Areizaga-Soto.  Areizaga-Soto did not endorse Favola in the general election.

However, Merrick went above the mudslinging by focusing on her plans for the 31st State Senate District once elected.   Merrick said, “I’m not a career politician – but someone who has created hundreds of jobs – who believes in the power of entrepreneurship and individual potential.  And I’ve lived it out in the private sector and in the nonprofit sector, helping those who really need it most; it’s ironic that (Favola), who is very extreme with a rigid ideology is accusing me of that. ”

Merrick also touched upon the fact that the number one thing on the minds of the voters she has met with is the economy, while focusing on her plans to grow the economy and to promote job creation.

While political mudslinging will always take place in races across the Commonwealth, it is always refreshing to hear a candidate actually discuss ideas on policy, rather than consistently attacking one another.+

 

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