Mark Warner, Democrat

Age: 65

Occupation:

United States senator, businessman

Previous office held: Governor of Virginia (2002-06) Education: B.A., George Washington University, 1977; J.D., Harvard Law School, 1980.

How do you plan to respond to the COVID economic crisis moving forward?

I have been focused on the pandemic threat from day one. Before a single case of Covid was confirmed in Virginia, I asked the Trump administration if they needed more funding to fight the virus. This summer, I delivered relief to small businesses, expanded free Covid testing, and made it possible for freelancers and independent contractors to file for unemployment. There’s more to do, but getting the economy back up and running starts with getting the pandemic under control. We must listen to the science and elect leaders who are dedicated to establishing a national strategy to test people and ensure our health care workers have adequate PPE.

How would you deal with a Trump second term or Biden administration?

I went into public service because I wanted to get stuff done. To do that, you need to be willing to work together. Regardless of who is elected president, Virginians have my commitment that I will continue to work for them. I am proud to have gotten 55 of my bills signed into law. Legislation that has done everything from making Medicare work better for seniors with chronic conditions, to funding two new aircraft carriers and sustaining about 25,000 jobs, to fixing our national parks.

What is the biggest difference between you and your opponent? My opponent thinks the president’s leadership on the coronavirus pandemic has been “great.” With over 200,000 Americans dead, I couldn’t disagree more. We now know that the president was knowingly misleading the American people about the severity of coronavirus, and my opponent was following his lead, saying the virus was no worse than the flu. He’s called masks “tyranny.” A downright wacky position to take.