Kaine, Vindman Make Quiet Campaign Stop in Woodbridge

Updated July 9, 2024 — The Tim Kaine for Senate campaign today sent us a press advisory announcing Kaine’s tour across the region from July 2 to 4. This is the first time we’ve seen this announcement.

Original Post: Senator Tim Kaine (D) and congressional hopeful Eugene Vindman quietly campaigned in Woodbridge on Wednesday, July 3.

The duo were joined by other elected officials, including Margaret Franklin and Victor Angry, who sit on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

Veterans Grow America hosted an event on its retail space next to Wegmans at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge.

It was great to join Senator @TimKaine this afternoon for a roundtable discussion at Veterans Growing America in Woodbridge.

From helping Veterans build their own business, to fighting to end Veteran homelessness — in Congress I will be a champion for our Veteran community. pic.twitter.com/8yBTxJnx0B

— Eugene Vindman (@YVindman) July 3, 2024

A Kaine campaign spokesman emailed Potomac Local, and Kaine made the campaign stump as part of his “Salute to Service” tour, which kicked off on July 1 to celebrate public servants, made stops in Stafford and Woodbridge, highlighting his long-standing support for military members, veterans, teachers, and healthcare workers.

A spokesman for Veterans Growing America told us Kaine’s campaign would invite the press, but no press attended the event. Potomac Local did not receive notification about Kaine’s campaign stumps in our area despite receiving regular press releases from his Senate office.

Communications from Kaine’s campaign and senate office in Washington, D.C., are managed by employees. A Kaine campaign staffer added that reporters would have been allowed in if any had shown up.

The campaign appearance comes after the presidential debate between Biden and Trump. Many Democrats have called for Biden to step aside and allow someone else to run for the presidency due to the president’s declining cognitive abilities.

So far, the candidates have been silent on whether or not Biden should end his re-election campaign, so we asked Kaine and Vindman (see the text of our email to each campaign below) and received no response from either candidate. However, Kaine stated his support for Biden’s re-election campaign on his X account on Thursday, July 4; “I’m with Joe. We stand up and stand together. Trump and his lemmings will tear us down and tear us apart.”

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Dear Senator Kaine and Col. Vindman,

Happy Independence Day. My name is Uriah Kiser, and I am the publisher of Potomac Local News. We recently came across a post on Facebook about your joint visit to Veterans Grow America in Woodbridge, a commendable organization and one of our valued sponsors.

Veterans Grow America informed us that no reporters attended the event, despite an expectation that Senator Kaine would invite the press. We would appreciate your assistance in addressing the following questions for an article we are preparing:

1. What members of the press were invited to the event? If none were invited, could you explain the reasoning behind this decision?
2. What key points and discussions took place during your campaign stop in Woodbridge? Additionally, why was Veterans Grow America chosen as the location for this visit?
3. Where do you, Senator Kaine, and you, Col. Vindman, stand regarding your support for President Joe Biden’s reelection? Since the debate a week ago, there have been calls for him to step down from the race; do you support those calls?
5. How has the president’s debate performance changed your respective campaigns as we closer to early voting?
6. Col. Vindman, you have been accused of having staff screen voters before you speak to them in public. https://x.com/notlarrysabato/status/1803102785744797731 Is this true? Is this why no press was invited to the Woodbridge event?
4. How do you each of you plan to spend your Independence Day holiday this year?

The responses you provide will be included in a post on our site, potomaclocalnews.com. We believe our readers will be very interested in your insights and perspectives on these matters.

Thank you for your time and attention. We look forward to your response.

Uriah Kiser
Founder & Publisher
Potomac Local News