ABINGDON, Va. – At the opening of his Abingdon campaign office Thursday, Republican congressional candidate Morgan Griffith spoke about an issue that’s relatively new to the campaign: immigration.
In the wake of Wednesday’s U.S. District Court decision on a controversial Arizona law designed to rein in illegal immigrants, Griffith said Congress needs to get tougher on immigration by building a fence on the Mexican border.
He accused U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, the Democratic incumbent, of voting against funding for the fence.
“When it came to the decision whether or not they fund the fence, Rick Boucher and [U.S. House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi voted no,” Griffith said. “As your congressman, I will pledge to you that I will vote to fund the fence. … It needs to be our No. 1 priority on immigration.”
In an interview, Boucher called the statement untrue.
“I voted for that fence and I voted to fund the fence, so it’s just another misstatement, which has become a very disturbing pattern by those who are leading his effort and opposing me this year,” Boucher said. “I have supported building the fence. … At the same time I’ve been very vocal about the need for the federal government not to interfere with the enforcement of the Arizona immigration law.”
Independent candidate Jeremiah Heaton said he’s planning a trip to Arizona later this summer to learn firsthand about immigration issues.
“Morgan Griffith cannot have an honest discussion about enforcing our borders,” Heaton said. “If he truly understood the meaning of boundaries, he would be running for Congress in the 6th District, where he lives.”
Griffith’s property line runs along the 9th District boundary, and while he represents some 9th District residents in the Virginia House of Delegates, his house is several feet outside the 9th.
Griffith, with a theme of “in order to change Washington we’ve got to change congressmen,” also attacked Boucher for his support of President Barack Obama and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“The policies of Obama and Pelosi are gong to bankrupt this country,” Griffith said, adding that Southwest Virginia’s children will be among those saddled with lives of diminished opportunity as a result of an exploding national debt.
Boucher said he does what he believes to be in the best interests of Virginia’s 9th Congressional District.
“I view every question that comes before us and Congress through that lens: What is the interest in the 9th District? That is the only thing that matters to me,” Boucher said.
“That is the only question that guides my decisions, and I am not persuaded by arguments of anyone else,” Boucher said. “Whether it’s a congressional leader or whether it’s a president, if I believe that the interest of the 9th District requires another course of action, I’m going got take the action that is in our local interest every time.”
Michelle Jenkins, 9th District chairwoman for the Republican Party, said other Griffith campaign offices are planned in Norton and Tazewell County. The campaign headquarters is in Christiansburg.
Early polls show Boucher with a strong lead, but Jenkins said that will change by November.
dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701
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