RESTON, Va. (AP) — Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Ed Gillespie debated who would be the more independent voice in the U.S. Senate at a town hall forum.

The Northern Virginia Technology Council hosted the forum Monday in Reston. The candidates discussed detailed policy questions on cybersecurity, immigration visas for skilled workers and other issues important to the tech community.

More broadly, Gillespie attacked Warner’s reputation as a centrist, claiming Warner is a reliable partisan supporter of President Obama. Warner, seeking a second term, highlighted his longstanding bipartisan efforts to forge a grand bargain to erase the nation’s budget deficit.

The forum was not a debate — the candidates answered questions in consecutive appearances.

Northern Virginia’s business community has been a swing vote of sorts in Virginia, sometimes backing Democrats and sometimes backing Republicans.

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