Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Rouse campaigns in RVA

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Rouse made a campaign stop in Richmond on Monday. 

Rouse spoke alongside a group of black leaders to make his pitch to voters ahead of the June 17 primary. 

“I stand before you today to say, while I may not know everything, I know that if we do this together, we can get the changes that we seek,” Rouse said. 

Rouse told voters it was his experience that makes him the right person for the job.

Rouse was raised by a single mother and became a first-generation college student at Virginia Tech. Rouse went on to play football in the NFL before being elected to the Virginia Beach City Council and the Virginia Senate. 

“I’m running for lieutenant governor not just for a position, or to further a political career, but I’m running to let our community know, to let our Commonwealth know, what it means to come from nothing and to become something,” Rouse said.

If elected, Rouse said he’ll focus on addressing key issues, including access to affordable housing, and improving education in Virginia. 

“We can walk and chew gum, and we’re gonna make sure we get those things done for Virginia,” Rouse told 8News. 

Five other Democrats are seeking the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor. Several of them held campaign events across Virginia over the weekend.