Candidates for governor sound off on Virginia top business ranking
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - The economy is a top talker on the campaign trail for Virginia governor, especially as the state emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin still says the state’s economy could be better.
“Unfortunately, Virginia hasn’t performed like the number one state to do business in, and we’ve watched our cost of living and our cost of doing business be ranked literally in the bottom half,” said Youngkin.
Virginia got the top spot on the CNBC list, in part, due to its educated workforce 39% with a bachelor’s degree or higher, third-highest concentration of STEM workers and laws changed by Democrats to make the state more inclusive.
“I’m excited. We’ve got to keep Virginia going. We’re the best state in America for business. We’re lifting her up. We’re going to lead us out of this COVID crisis,” Terry McAuliffe, (D) candidate for Virginia governor.
McAuliffe says he started building the state’s economy eight years ago as governor and will work harder to make that list again.
“And that’s why this election is so important. If Youngkin were governor, we would not have won this placement we got today as number one,” said McAuliffe.
Meanwhile, Youngkin, who campaigned in south Richmond Tuesday afternoon, says he’s the only one who can make the economy better.
“Sadly, Virginia over the last eight years, we’ve been missing out, losing out to Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland. They’ve grown 48% percent faster than us,” said Youngkin.
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