Virginia Senator Mark Warner, as part of his 2026 re-election campaign for the United States Senate, held a community conversation at Longwood University on March 14. Warner, who announced his intention to seek a fourth term to the Senate in December, responded to questions and comments from community members in Martinelli Boardroom.
He spoke to The Rotunda in an interview before the event on a variety of topics, including his decision to seek reelection. Warner, who has served in the Senate since 2009, addressed frustration from young voters that it may be time for a new generation to take charge.
“One of the ways we change things [is to] just get involved. Run yourself,” he said. “I also feel like, as someone who feels particularly at this moment in time with President Trump breaking so many barriers, I thought it was incumbent on me to try to get rehired one last time.”
Furthermore, in response to the question about the next generation, Warner said he is keeping the interests of college students in mind as they prepare to enter the workforce — particularly on issues of artificial intelligence.
“That's a valid critique of, ‘We need the next generation,’ but no one is more, in the whole political scene in America, is talking more about the potential challenges that artificial intelligence poses, particularly for kids coming right out of college,” he said.
“[We have] 9% recent college graduate unemployment, I think that could go to 30% in the next couple years,” Warner added. “I think AI long-term will bring great benefits, but I think it'll be hugely disruptive in the next five years, and I'll match my policy chops on kind of emerging technology issues with anybody of any age.”
According to a 2025 Q4 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recent college graduate unemployment is estimated to sit at 5.7%, a steady and consistent increase over the past year. The bank also estimated a 42.5% underemployment rate among the same group.”
In his remarks to event attendees, Warner expressed further concern over job disruption due to AI.
“It's going to hit folks coming out of college… You're going to have a lot of young people who are saying they did everything right, they still couldn't get a job. And you're going to have a lot… of pissed off parents and grandparents who helped support that $200,000 education,” he said. “I think we can… make these AI companies help us figure that out, and help pay for it.”
Warner also specifically spoke about those entering business fields, who may feel the ramifications of AI more severely than others.
“This sounds a little crazy, but we may need to try and convince folks to no longer major in business administration, because those jobs are first being eliminated [by AI], and become a nurse. We need a lot more healthcare workers,” he said.
Warner also addressed Longwood students directly on AI during the interview.
“I would welcome their input on how we sort [artificial intelligence] out… I want Longwood students to know that I'm going to have you back, I want to work with you to help figure out what are the right choices going forward,” he said.
The Senator’s visit came two days after a deadly shooting at Old Dominion University that killed an ROTC Instructor and injured two others. Furthermore, bomb threats forced the evacuation of university libraries at six institutions in Virginia, including at Longwood — prompting campus safety concerns as students returned from Spring Break.
Warner said he believes students will be safe on campuses but voiced frustration with counter terrorism efforts at the FBI.
“I think coming back will be safe, but I also think we need to acknowledge that the FBI, under this director, Kash Patel, has… fired a number of the senior people who would do counter terrorism, counter espionage, and then he's taken up to a third of the FBI agents who are doing counter terrorism or other things… and have moved them all into immigration enforcement. And that's a trade off,” he said.
“The President has started this war with Iran [and] it has consequences back at home. It potentially stirs up folks, whether or not they were part of a group inspired by events,” he added. “His administration should have thought a little bit more about all the ramifications of when we start a war."
The Democratic and Republican primaries for United States Senate in Virginia are currently scheduled for August 4, 2026. If Warner is to win reelection, his fourth term will end in 2033, just after he turns 77.
