Virginia’s two candidates vying for a U.S. Senate seat this year took sharply divergent positions in response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding critical provisions of President Obama’s affordable health care act.

Former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) issued a statement saying, “While there is more work to do, it is worth noting that what has already been accomplished under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly 63,000 more young people in Virginia have health coverage, more than 800,000 Virginia seniors have received free preventative care, millions of small businesses are now eligible for tax credits, and 20 million American women have access to cancer screenings and contraception without co-pays. We’ve put an end to the egregious abuses by insurance companies that denied coverage to children with preexisting conditions, charged women higher premiums for the same coverage, and dropped folks when they got sick.”

Former Gov. George Allen (R) issued a statement saying he is “disappointed” by the Supreme Court decision. “I believe it is an infringement on individual liberty and free enterprise….I want to be the deciding vote to repeal this health care law.” He said he favors health care reforms that “put people, not government, in control of their health care.”

Virginia Attorney General and presumtive 2014 gubernatorial canddiate Ken Cuccinelli (R), who was among those state attorneys general to challenge the Obama reforms, sending them to the Supreme Court, had pre-scheduled a live televised news conference in Richmond this morning in anticipation of the ruling, and he said, “This is a dark day for the American people, the Constitution and the rule of law. This is a dark day for American liberty,” saying “Congress has gained an unlimited power to force citizens to buy anything.”