The race for governor in Virginia has hit a full sprint with Labor Day parades, speeches and political picnics.
In conservative Buena Vista, Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell greeted a crowd much more sparse than last year's.
The day later took both to Covington, one of the few Virginia communities with a substantial union population.
Some elected officials were conspicuous by their absence. Neither U.S. Sen. Jim Webb nor counterpart Mark Warner attended. It was the first Labor Day parade Warner had missed since 2003.
That was noteworthy because while voters along the route rubbed shoulders with people who want to run the state, health care and other issues before Congress were on their mind.
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