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Republican Former Senator John Warner Endorses Mark Warner’s Re-election Bid
Republican former Senator John Warner served the Commonwealth of Virginia for over 30 years in the United States Senate. Before being elected to the Senate, he served as Undersecretary of the Navy and Secretary of the Navy under President Nixon. In the Senate, John Warner served as the Chair of the Senate Rules Committee from 1995 — 1999 and as the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 2003 — 2007.
Former Senator John Warner endorses Mark Warner’s campaign because, in his words, “all that experience, you couldn’t buy it.” Former Sen. John Warner notes Sen. Mark Warner’s willingness to work with both Republicans and Democrats to get things done in the Senate.
We can make sure that Mark Warner keeps his Senate seat so he can keep fighting for every Virginian — but we need your help! Join us as we watch Mark speak to his proven track record of working hard for all Virginians. In the Senate, he’s fought to deliver coronavirus relief, make healthcare more affordable and ensure all Virginians can succeed in our new tech-driven economy. On November 3rd, we’re hoping that he can continue to deliver those results.
To keep our team and all of Mark’s constituents safer and healthier, we’ve had to move most of our events online, which means that debate night watch parties look a little different this year.
Volunteers like you are what keeps Team Warner moving forward — thank you! Whether you post to social media, help us make calls or send texts, or donate to the campaign, you’re helping us keep this campaign running full steam.
Sen. Mark Warner’s Work to Combat Alzheimer’s Disease
Like too many Americans, Sen. Warner has personal experience with Alzheimer’s — his mother, Marjorie, struggled with Alzheimer’s for 11 years, not speaking at all during nine of those years. Her battle with the disease shaped Warner as a legislator, molding him into someone ready and willing to fight to improve access to health care for the most vulnerable among us.
Warner helped launch SeniorNavigator, a resource to help families navigate difficult decisions around long-term care services and the Virginia Health Care Foundation, which aims to improve access to care for underserved and underinsured Virginians. As governor, he focused on increasing protections for those in adult care.
Warner lost his mother to Alzheimer’s, but her memory continues to motivate him and guide his work in the Senate. He serves as a co-chair of the bi-partisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, and continues to advocate for increased funding to find a cure in every Fiscal Year budget. Warner also introduced the bi-partisan Care Planning Act of 2013, after the difficulty his own family had in developing a care plan for his mother. He does not want anyone to experience the regret he did in not having a conversation with her earlier about her care preferences. The Obama administration finalized a bill similar to that legislation in 2016, which sought to increase the number of doctors having detailed end of life care conversations with their patients and their families.
Warner understands the toll that Alzheimer’s can have on individuals and on their families and caregivers, and will continue to fight for funding to find a cure.
Alexandria, VA – U.S. Senator Mark Warner’s re-election campaign released a pair of high-profile labor endorsements ahead of the second Virginia U.S. Senate debate, which takes place this Saturday at Norfolk State University.
On Monday, Senator Warner announced endorsements by the Virginia Education Association, 32BJ SEIU andSEIUVirginia 512, which represents service employees throughout the Commonwealth.
“Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Sen. Warner has proactively supported the VEA, ensuring that teachers, students, and parents have access to vital information, school funding, and broadband to support at-home learning,” saidJames J. Fedderman, President of the VEA. “We are proud to have Mark Warner representing us in the U.S. Senate and proud to support his re-election today.”
“Senator Warner’s focus on bipartisan legislation to reduce healthcare costs and protect all workers throughout the pandemic has made a difference for Virginia’s working families,” said SEIU Virginia 512 President David Broder. “SEIU members know that Senator Warner fights for working people in Washington, and we’re proud to stand with him during this crucial election.”
“Mark Warner puts essential workers over politics,” said Jaime Contreras, Vice President of 32BJ SEIU. “Whether it was during the 2019 Government Shutdown or now with the Covid-19 pandemic, Senator Warner stays committed to supporting working families, keeping Virginians employed, and expanding access to healthcare, childcare, and education for all. SEIU endorses our senior Senator, Mark Warner, for re-election.”
Senator Warner continues to emphasize the necessity for all Virginians to make their voices heard in this year’s election. Virginians can vote early in-person from September 18 through October 31. Voters can check their registration status, register to vote, and request an absentee ballot today. For more information visit: iwillvote.com.
Sen. Warner is dedicated to making sure that every Virginian has access to quality educational opportunities and job training that will help them succeed in our rapidly changing economy. After paying for his own undergraduate education with student loans, Sen. Warner understands the challenge of affording higher education, and is focused on relieving the burden of student debt in America. He has worked hard to make higher education more affordable and expand workforce training programs and will continue to work hard to create more opportunities for Virginians.
Over 44 million Americans face student loan debt, making it one of the largest consumer debt categories. Total student loan debt in the U.S. is now more than $1.5 trillion. Sen. Warner paid his own way through school, and recognizes that the challenge of affording higher education is even greater now, and principal in the mind of many Americans. In the Senate, Warner introduced the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2019, to help students and their families access a wide range of comparative data to see the full cost of pursuing a college education. In 2014, Sen. Warner introduced bipartisan legislation to make it easier for students to refinance college loans and switch to income-based repayment options. As Governor and as a member of the Senate, Mark has also worked to reinvigorate the senior year of high school by promoting expanded access to college-level courses and workforce training programs.
Sen. Warner worked to include a bi-partisan employer repayment bill as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The bill incentivizes employers to make tax-free contributions toward education expenses for their employees.
Mark Warner founded the Virginia High-Tech Partnership in response to an increasingly digital-based economy. Warner saw that some of the fastest growing businesses were in the high-tech sector and identified an increasing need for highly skilled workers to fill openings in the technology field.
The Virginia High-Tech Partnership linked Virginia’s five historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with this quickly growing sector and connected with students like Maurice to connect them to opportunities to grow their skills in the technology field. The Partnership recruited students from Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Saint Paul’s College, Virginia State University, and Virginia Union University to these high-tech job and internship opportunities. Mark Warner built this partnership to foster a strong link between Virginia’s HBCUs and the future leaders they educate and high-tech businesses.
The Partnership created opportunities for these students to find employment opportunities within the high-tech sector and to help technology companies find highly-skilled workers.
It’s not just mail-in votes. Operational and organizational changes at the United States Postal Service are causing delays in delivery of medications to millions of Americans.
A group of U.S. senators, including Mark Warner (D-VA), are calling on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to reverse all operational and organizational changes that have caused the delivery issues.
“The Postal Service is an essential public institution that must uphold its duty to serve every community. Your recently implemented changes pose an unacceptable threat and continue to have a devastating effect on communities that rely on consistent access to medication through the mail. We have received numerous reports from seniors about delays in receiving their prescriptions through the mail, leaving some without life-sustaining medication for days. Others have been forced to obtain emergency prescriptions from their doctors and pay out-of-pocket for medication because their original prescriptions covered by insurance never arrived,” the senators wrote in a letter to DeJoy released today.
The campaign of Sen. Mark Warner has released a new Spanish language radio ad “Conozco,” which has begun airing on Spanish language radio stations across the Commonwealth this week.
In conjunction with the radio ad, the Warner campaign has also launched a Spanish language campaign website, which can be viewed here.
The Warner campaign is committed to reaching all voters ahead of early voting in Virginia, which begins this week on Sept. 18.
Voters can check their registration status and apply for an absentee ballot by visiting iwillvote.com.
Virginia lawmakers are reacting after released audio recordings of President Trump speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic.
In taped interviews for a new book by journalist Bob Woodward, President Trump admitted back in February he was purposely playing down just how serious the virus was.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow – the President of the United States knowingly misled the American people to believe we were safer than we were, and 180,000 Americans died,” said Senator Mark Warner, (D) Virginia.
After a full day of socially-distanced meetings and conversations with business owners in Hampton Roads, Sen. Mark Warner said his takeaway message was that many people in Virginia “are still on the financial edge.”
Warner wrapped up a Sept. 3 visit through the region at a roundtable hosted at Smithfield Foods that included small business owners and economic development officials from Isle of Wight, Surry, Southampton and Franklin. Warner, a Democrat, engaged with everyone on a variety of economic topics, concerns and predictions.
Warner conceded he is concerned about the passage of the next federal economic relief package.
“Three weeks ago, I was more confident. I am worried now, and I feel like if either side tries to play this for political advantage when I think the real economy is much more in jeopardy than the stock market economy,” Warner said.
In this summer of political discontent, an extraordinary thing happened when Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, which some have billed as the most important environmental legislation in generations.
The act will provide billions of dollars to our national parks, forests and wildlife refuges. And in historic Virginia, where such federal recreational lands number in the millions of acres and draw millions of visitors, that is big news for conservation, tourism and jobs.
What has been less fully appreciated, however, is that Virginia’s own Sen. Mark Warner laid the groundwork for the act three years ago when he introduced the National Park Service Legacy Act.
It was this bill that first proposed significant funds to eliminate the National Park Service’s billions of dollars in backlogged infrastructure needs. When that proposal stalled, Warner, a Democrat, teamed up with Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, and a handful of other senators from both sides of the aisle to introduce the Restore Our Parks Act, which garnered support from more than half of the Senate. That traction led to its eventual inclusion in a broader conservation package dubbed the Great American Outdoors Act.
The act does two important things. First, it provides $9.5 billion over five years to address decades of delayed maintenance to more than 5,500 miles of roads, 17,000 miles of trails and 24,000 buildings in our national parks, as well as deliver infrastructure repairs at national forests and national wildlife refuges.
In a politically purple state, longtime senator Mark Warner is hoping his bipartisan track record will help him ward off republican and independent challengers to win a third term representing Virginia in the U.S. Senate.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of campaigns have had to pivot to more online outreach along with social distancing measures and lower capacity when attending events around the state. As the incumbent candidate, Warner has been involved in recent and forthcoming relief packages from Congress and also served as a member of President Donald Trump’s economic reopening panel. With the Senate in recess in late August, Warner dropped by Charlottesville for a series of socially-distant campaign events where Charlottesville Tomorrow was in attendance and also received a 20 minute one-on-one interview.
“It’s been the honor of my lifetime to be governor and now senator in Virginia,” Warner said. “I’m really proud of the results I’ve produced for Virginia.”
He listed his efforts to bolster funding for national parks and work to protect people with preexisting conditions in the Affordable Care Act. Throughout Warner’s tenure in Congress, he often joined or cosponsored legislation with republican senators and currently serves as vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“I think I’ve built a record of both delivery for the people of Virginia but still the ability to work with people on both sides of the aisle,” he said of his bipartisan work.
“Even the fact that I’m not a fan of Donald Trump, the fact that he picked me to be on his economic reopening panel shows that I’ve got respect from both sides of the aisle. In a time when so many people are so partisan, I think having that ability is really important. If the people of Virginia hire me again, I commit to even do more.”
