Anne Holton campaigns for Tim Kaine in Fairfax

Anne Holton completed her 25th “Small Business Listening Tour” stop in Fairfax, as she continues to campaign across Virginia on behalf of her husband, U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine.

Holton began the day with a tour of downtown businesses in Fairfax City, visiting Fair Trade Winds, The Fire House Grill, The Factory, and Studio Diana. Following the tour, Holton met with community leaders and local small business owners to talk about Kaine’s Virginia-based strategies to create jobs, strengthen the economy, and level the playing field for small businesses.

“To get our economy moving again, and to fuel the engine of small business growth in Virginia, we need leaders in Washington like Tim who will take a balanced approach to politics and fiscal responsibility,” Holton told the crowd in Fairfax. “Tim demonstrated as governor that he is willing to make tough choices to balance the budget. During his term, as we faced the worst recession since the Great Depression, Tim worked with members of both parties to make $5 billion in necessary cuts to spending. But even during tough times, he continued to invest in infrastructure, workforce development, and education to keep Virginia moving forward.”

At each of her 25 tour stops, Holton has asked Virginia business owners what Washington can do to improve the economic environment to encourage small businesses to grow, expand and hire. After talking with business leaders in Richmond, Southwest Virginia, Northern Virginia, the Valley, and other regions throughout the Commonwealth, Holton reflected that one message has remained constant – Virginia needs leaders in Congress who will work together to address the nation’s fiscal challenges.

“Since February, I have had the opportunity to talk with dozens of small business owners and listen to their ideas about how we can make Virginia a friendlier place for business,” said Holton. “And whether I’m talking to an owner of a small drugstore in Big Stone Gap, an entrepreneur in Charlottesville, or a restaurant owner in Herndon, I hear the same message again and again: we can’t afford more of the same partisan gridlock in Washington that threatens our economic stability and recovery. They are looking for leaders like Tim who will find common ground in Washington and take a Virginia-based, forward-looking approach to strengthen our economy.”