Virginia is a focus of last minute campaigning

As Election Day draws ever nearer, Virginia has become a campaign battleground for both President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney. On Thursday, Obama spoke to a crown of 15,000 supporters in Richmond, while Romney’s running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan stopped in Bristol, speaking to 1500 in the western, coal-driven town. Virginia is an important swing state in which neither candidate has a comfortable lead.

Romney’s campaign has scheduled three visits on Sunday and Obama plans to appear next week with Bill Clinton in Prince William County. The rhetoric is clear: Obama spoke of Romney’s economic track record, stating that if elected president, Romney would continue practices that led to the recession. He addressed women voters by calling attention to republican stances on reproductive rights, and he highlighted the benefits of his Affordable Care Act. Ryan, on the other hand, told supporters in Bristol that a second term for Obama would threaten the coal industry and therefore their jobs.