8th Senate District candidates face off at teen-led debate

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — Understanding who your candidates are was the purpose of a teen-led debate on Sunday, according to Angelia Vernon, the president of the Roanoke Valley chapter of Jack and Jill of America.

"Hopefully it will give them better insight in terms of who they want to vote for in the upcoming election," she said.

The clock is counting down to election day, and the races are heating up. Candidates for the 8th Senate District took to the stage for the debate, hosted by the chapter at the University of Lynchburg.

Folks got a chance to hear the side-by-side opinions of the 8th district senate race candidates: Democrat Donna StClair, and Republican Senator Mark Peake.

One of the hot topics at the debate was student loans.

"We cannot burden our young people with bills that they can't hope to pay back because of their college loans," Donna StClair said.

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StClair said she hopes to include more options for student loan forgiveness, like paying it back through government service.

Peake said that folks should not take out a loan without an intent to pay it back. "What we have to do at the state level is make sure that our colleges and universities are affordable," he said.

The candidates also discussed how to help small businesses.

One teen moderator asked, "How can we promote entrepreneurship and provide resources for small businesses to thrive, fostering economic growth in our region?"

Peake said he believes cutting taxes can help small businesses and encourage new businesses to develop.

"We have many government agencies that are there to help our small business people," he said.

StClair said she wants to create ways for business alliances, community colleges, and other resources to come together to help small businesses get on their feet.

"I think we need to encourage more and more people to take the plunge and start their own businesses," StClair said.

You can find out more about these two candidates' views here on our website.