Democrat Terry McAuliffe suggested that Virginia libertarian gubernatorial candidate Robert Sarvis should not have been excluded from the third and final debate in the race on Thursday.
“My campaign since day one said we’d love to have him in the debate,” McAuliffe said in response to a question about whether Sarvis should have been allowed to participate in the debate.
McAuliffe added that “a lot of the issues that Robert Sarvis campaigns on, he and I have talked on different issues.”
Sarvis needed at least 10 percent of support in major independent polls monitored by RealClearPolitics in the last three weeks to qualify for that debate, according to The Washington Post. He did not meet the threshold and was therefore not able to join in the debate.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), the GOP candidate in the gubernatorial race, said he planned to appear at an event with Sarvis on Saturday. Cuccinelli then touted an endorsement from libertarian Ron Paul (R-TX).
“I expect to be participating in an event with him on Saturday,” Cuccinelli said. “I am proud to have Congressman Ron Paul’s endorsement. I would point out that in my time lifetime in Virginia I’m the strongest pro-liberty candidate to ever be elected statewide in my lifetime in Virginia.”