Va. House candidates talk campaigns and I-81 issues ahead of election

Several candidates running for the Virginia House of Delegates came together on Tuesday morning in Harrisonburg for a candidate forum to talk about their campaigns and also answer questions from the community.

Republican Tony Wilt will be facing off against Democrat Brent Finnegan on November 7th for the 26th district seat. Both say they are feeling good about the upcoming race.

"We continue to work hard out engaging the citizens in the 26th district, door knocking and various events and (we) feel like we have a strong tailwind of support that will carry us through to victory," said Wilt, the incumbent.

Finnegan, who grew up in Broadway, said he is feeling energized for folks to cast their ballots.

"We've been out knocking on the doors, talking to voters and they're excited about this election in two weeks so we're hoping to do well," said Finnegan.

Each candidate touched on issues Tuesday including energy, the right to work, poultry industry regulations and traffic on Interstate 81, both agreeing that something must be done.

"We definitely need some action there and, to me, that action would be on two fronts one being some things that can have an immediate impact and then the things that would have a longer term impact," said Wilt.

Recently, there have been calls from the community regarding issues with the heavily used interstate over congestion and traffic accidents.

"The solution on 81 needs to be a multi-pronged approach and not just a blanket widening because we don't want to encroach on farm land and battlefields and historic sites," said Finnegan. "We really need to make sure we are expanding in instead of out."

Republican Delegate Steve Landes, the incumbent in the 25th district was also at the event. He will be up against democrat Angela Lynn on Election Day.