With less than a week until Election Day, the Republican slate of statewide candidates appeared in Roanoke on Thursday to rally supporters and emphasize differences with their opponents.

About 100 people listened and cheered inside the O. Winston Link Museum as Jerry Kilgore ran through a litany of issues and attacked his opponent in the governor's race, Democrat Tim Kaine.

"On every issue the race is clear, the decision is plain," Kilgore said. "I am the conservative in this race for governor. I am the pro-gun, anti-tax, limited government, anti-illegal immigration, pro-public safety, pro-death penalty, culture-of-life, trust-the-people conservative. And folks, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kilgore repeated his pledge to put all proposed tax increases to state referendum. He said that he wants to use state surplus money to fund transportation projects.

"Folks, I will not raise your gas tax," Kilgore said.

He said that Kaine supported "the largest tax increase in Virginia history" by backing Gov. Mark Warner's budget in 2004.

"On each and every issue, you cannot trust Tim Kaine," Kilgore said. "In each and every office he's held, he has raised taxes."

Kilgore also denied Kaine's accusations that he's run a negative campaign in recent weeks. Kaine's attacks stem largely from Kilgore-sponsored television and radio advertisements in which relatives of murder victims criticize Kaine for his opposition to the death penalty. In one, a man attacks Kaine for providing legal assistance in the death row appeal of his son's killer and goes on to say that Kaine would even oppose the execution of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Kaine has said he is morally opposed to the death penalty, but would enforce it if elected governor.

Kilgore denied that the ads are a form of negative campaigning.

"The only thing negative in this campaign is Tim Kaine's record, and we're going to talk about it," Kilgore said.

Kilgore was introduced by Ben Davis, a 28-year-old Salem man who said that parole reform, instituted by former Gov. George Allen, helped to make him a better person. He was sent to prison in 1996 with a three-year sentence. Under the old system, Davis would have been eligible for parole after only a year.

"With the attitude I had after one year, I was headed down the road to self-destruction," Davis said.

Davis, who now has a wife and three children, said that he decided to reform during his second year in prison. Since then, he said, he's been a "productive member of society."

In addition to Kilgore, Bill Bolling and Bob McDonnell, Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general, respectively, spoke on issues in their races.

The campaign stop was the first in a final statewide tour that will continue through 18 localities over the next four days.

Kaine is also in the midst of a statewide trip and will be touring Western Virginia this weekend.