More than 350 pack conference room for Tim Kaine visit

STAUNTON - Droves of supporters met U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in Staunton Sunday afternoon as he made one of his first campaign stops of 2018.

More than 350 people sandwiched into the conference room and bunched in the hallway at the Staunton Public Library, craning necks, bumping shoulders and standing on tip-toes to hear what Kaine had to say.

As the new year begins, the top four legislative issues he's focused on in the short-term are the budget, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) immigration policy, hurricane relief and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program), he said.

"We want a Virginia that lives up to the name 'commonwealth,'" Kaine said.

He also touched on the issue of natural gas pipelines in response to several questions from the crowd, calling for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rehear the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline projects, as he did in a letter he signed Friday. He said the "threshold" for using eminent domain for such a project should be higher and the projects' approval process needs to be improved, drawing raucous approval from the crowd.

"There needs to be a process that is technically astute, and I don't think we've had that," Kaine said.

More:Outspoken preacher joins Stewart in Senate race against Kaine

He said the large turnout tells him people are taking "very seriously" their power to stand up and tell their elected officials what they think.

Immigration policy and CHIP were on the mind for Lauren Riegl, of Waynesboro, whose husband is an immigrant from the Czech Republic.

More:Kaine proposes new health care bill with focus on rural areas

And Ronna Wertman, of Grottoes, said she came to hear what Kaine had to say on the pipeline and DACA, as those issues will have a keen impact on the Valley. She said she was impressed and is feeling confident after Kaine spoke.

Kaine is up for re-election in November.

"The election will offer a real clear choice about who Virginia is," Kaine said.

More:Virginia GOP looks for others to run against Kaine as they try to maneuver away from Stewart