October 3, 2016 | No Comments
ASHLAND, Va. — Mike Pence blasted Tim Kaine’s record as governor of Virginia here on Kaine’s home turf Monday on the eve of their first and only debate.
Pence has mostly ignored Hillary Clinton’s running mate this campaign, focusing instead on going after Clinton herself. But Monday night, whether because of the looming debate or the crowd of Virginia Republicans, Pence took aim at Kaine, who has been serving in elected office in this state for all but a few months since 1994.
“Tomorrow morning I’m going to be heading over to Farmville, at Longwood University, a little bit of a debate with your governor — your former governor — and your senator, Tim Kaine,” Pence said, eliciting boos from the crowd.
“While I expect we’re going to be talking about the visions and the choice the American people face at the top of the ticket, I kind of hope we get to talk about our records as well, because they’re just a little bit different.”
Pence went on to accuse Kaine of trying to raise taxes “by $4 billion” as governor and blamed the Democrat for an inability “to get a roads bill passed.”
“In Indiana, we’re the crossroads of America, I actually signed into law $2.5 billion in roads and bridges and infrastructure for Indiana,” Pence said. “He left the state $2 billion in the hole, I’m proud to say we’ve got the largest surplus in Indiana history, more than $2 billion in the bank.”
He also hit Kaine for a rising unemployment rate during his governorship, which coincided with the Great Recession.
Pence touted his record in Indiana as “exactly the kind of leadership that Donald Trump is going to bring to the White House with exactly the same results.”
The barbs will be flying both ways Tuesday night, and Pence will likely target most of his fire on the top of the ticket. He essentially said as much earlier in the rally.
“I’m looking forward to it, I can’t wait,” he said. “I mean Hillary Clinton’s record on foreign affairs alone could take up the whole 90 minutes. And it wouldn’t be a pretty picture.”
But Kaine will also be looking to put Pence on the defensive over some of Trump’s recent controversies. Pence has acknowledged differences between he and Trump, as he did Monday night, but chalks them up to different styles.
“We’re a little bit different,” Pence acknowledged to laughter, but added they have found much in common since getting to know each other.
It was also announced Monday that Pence will depart on a campaign bus tour Wednesday morning after the debate, holding events in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina during the four-day swing.