ROANOKE, VA – Thursday night, the Democratic candidates for Governor met in Roanoke for their second debate of the campaign.
Candidates Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello showed a widening divide between their voter bases on issues like gun control and natural gas pipelines.
It was a very civil, issue-based debate, so much so that Perriello actually called Northam a "leader" at one point on the issue of protecting womens' healthcare.
But the debate began, not talking about Virginia, but what happened with a health care bill that just passed the House of Representatives.
As the two candidates took the stage Thursday at Virginia Western Community College, they were united in using strong words to describe the new republican health care bill.
"The piece of legislation that was passed in the House up in Washington today is just, it's abysmal," said Northam.
"It was an act of cowardice that sets us back a decade on holding the insurance companies accountable," said Perriello.
But here in Virginia, supporters of the two candidates highlighted more specific concerns.
For Perriello fans, it's the environment.
"I am extremely concerned about the fracking and the pipeline issues," said JoAnn Criscone, who came to rally for Perriello.
Northam was asked to say yes or no to those pipelines, but dodged the question.
"He continued to dodge a very simple answer about the pipeline, and continued, despite claiming he believes in transparency, to answer a very simple question about whether he'd had a secret meeting with Dominion before submitting a letter about the pipeline," said Perriello.
But Northam says, it's not that simple.
"It's not a yes or no thing. It's not something the Lieutenant Governor or the Governor can stop. It's something that the Federal government can either pass or stop, and it's in their hands," said Northam.
But Northam fans say gun control is the issue they're focused on most.
"Ralph Northam said we need changes in our gun laws after Virginia Tech, and Tom Perriello wasn't willing to see that we had a big problem after Virginia Tech," said Catherine Koebel, who came out Thursday to support Northam.
Northam continued a strong stance on the issue.
"I know all to well what assault weapons do to human beings, and there's no excuse that we have assault weapons on our streets," said Northam.
Perriello, on the other hand, chose to give a more cautious answer.
"I do believe that the second amendment protects an individual right to bear arms, and I believe that can be balanced with common sense gun reform that makes our communities more safe, like a universal background check," said Perriello.
Northam and Perriello have three more debates scheduled, with the next one happening next Tuesday in Richmond.