BLACKSBURG, Va. — With Election Day rapidly approaching, Republican candidates Jason Miyares and John Reid made a campaign stop in Blacksburg on Friday, urging voters who haven’t yet cast their ballots to make their voices heard.

Although Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for Governor, was unable to attend the event, her absence was due to her duties in the Virginia State Senate, where she was overseeing a crucial vote on a proposed redistricting amendment.

Dismissing the amendment, Reid, the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, accused the Democrats of manipulating the situation to sideline Earle-Sears during the critical final stretch of the campaign.

“The Democrats are unfairly targeting Winsome Earle-Sears,” Reid asserted. “This is a blatant tactic of political interference, and they know it.”

Filling in for his wife, Terry Sears addressed the crowd, emphasizing the significance of the upcoming election for Virginia’s future.

“We need everyone to get out and vote,” Terry Sears urged. “We’re on the cusp of something big, and while every vote counts, we want our victory to be decisive.”

Reid and Miyares pushed on with their respective election bids, nonetheless, calling on Southwestern Virginians to make their voices heard.

“I’m not going to go to the Capitol and just hope that we can kick the can down the road for another two years and try to win off the same problems,” said Reid. “We’ve got to actually solve problems.”

“I’m asking Virginians to rehire me, and my mission will not change,” said Miyares. “I said from day one, Virginians’ safety will be my number one issue.”

Miyares also addressed the Jay Jones texts, saying that his race now transcends politics.

“My election really isn’t about politics,” said Miyares. “It’s just about decency. We’ve gotten press calls from all over the world saying, ‘what’s happening in Virginia now?’ This is a test for us. Are we going to pass this decency test?”

The polls close for early voting on Saturday, November 1, and election day is Tuesday, November 4.