The candidates in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race will hold their final debate tonight in Blacksburg, but the ad wars will continue all the way to Election Day.

Republican George Allen is out with a new ad this morning focused on the automatic defense cuts that would occur in January if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a deficit reduction package. In the ad, Allen says that Democrat Tim Kaine’s solution to avert the fiscal cliff “is to raise taxes.”

“Can families and small businesses really afford more taxes/” Allen says in the ad.

Kaine has proposed ending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts on income greater than $500,000 to help reduce the deficit and avoid the fiscal cliff. Allen opposes any tax increases.

“Virginians need look no further than Tim Kaine to find what is standing in the way of a better future in Virginia,” said Allen campaign manager Mike Thomas. “Tim Kaine’s response to the largest economic threat to Virginia is to raise taxes on job-creators. The challenges facing Virginia call for George Allen’s proven leadership in working with Democrats and Republicans to reach agreement for solutions and create jobs. Every day in the U.S. Senate, George Allen will know that his job is to fight for Virginians’ jobs.”

Kaine’s campaign said the ad distorts the Democrat’s position on sequestration. The Kaine camp also argued that Allen’s approach to deficit-reduction would make defense cuts more likely.

“Virginians are ready for a comeback but George Allen is offering an economic throwback to the policies that got us into this mess,” said Kaine spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine. “What America’s businesses and families can’t afford are more tax breaks for the wealthy that come at the expense of investments in education, infrastructure, small businesses, research and development, and other priorities that strengthen the economy.

“Tim Kaine has a plan to avert sequestration and reduce our deficit responsibly, not by gutting education and Medicare, but by pursuing bipartisan strategies that won’t jeopardize our economy. Unfortunately, George Allen would protect tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of small businesses and middle class families instead of taking the Tim Kaine approach that helped make Virginia Forbes’ Best State for Business. Virginia just can’t afford to send George Allen back to Washington.”

– Michael Sluss