Anne Holton kicks off campaign tour of Western Virginia

Anne Holton campaigned on behalf of her husband, Tim Kaine, in Clifton Forge and Wytheville on Tuesday, kicking off a three-day swing through Western and Southwest Virginia. At each stop, Holton met with small business and community leaders to discuss Kaine’s Virginia-based strategies to create jobs and develop a globally competitive workforce.

In Clifton Forge, Holton toured downtown businesses, including the Clifton Forge Arts School, Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center, Heirlooms at Clifton Forge, and Fire and Light Gallery. Following the tour, she met with local business owners and community leaders at The Club Car, where she emphasized Kaine’s record of fiscal responsibility and workforce development.

“As governor during the worst recession since the Great Depression, Tim had to make tough but necessary cuts to get the economy back on track,” Holton told the crowd in Clifton Forge. “But even during hard times, Tim took a balanced approach—combining necessary cuts with strategic investments in key areas like education and infrastructure to strengthen our economy.”

In the afternoon, Holton toured businesses in Wytheville, including Joe’s Pizzeria, Building and Design of Virginia, Baldwin’s Fashion, and Skeeter’s World Famous Hotdogs, before meeting with local supporters and business owners at the Edith Bolling Wilson Museum, where she highlighted Kaine’s commitment to finding common ground in Washington to create jobs and move Virginia forward. As governor, Kaine worked with members of both parties to make important progress in areas like education, health care, and public transportation. His investment in Virginia’s economy helped the state earn recognition as Governing magazine’s “Best Managed State,” Education Week’s best state to raise a child, and Forbes’ “Best State for Business” all four years of his term.

“Throughout his years of public service, Tim has demonstrated a unique ability to bring people together to achieve results,” Holton said to Wytheville business leaders. “As a city councilman, mayor, lieutenant governor, and governor of Virginia, Tim worked with members of both parties to find common ground to improve the lives of Virginia’s families. And if we send Tim to the Senate, I am confident he will focus on the issues that unite us, not divide us, and he will work to break through the Washington gridlock to focus on strategies to create jobs and strengthen our economy.”