RESTON, Va. (AP) — Republican Ken Cuccinelli’s activism on conservative issues such as abortion rights and gay marriage dogged him at a forum before Virginia technology leaders Thursday, while his Democratic foe, Terry McAuliffe, professed deep concern about local taxes that burden business, but couldn’t prescribe his own solutions for them.

In their second joint appearance in three weeks, Cuccinelli and McAuliffe — both of Fairfax County — were questioned separately for nearly two hours in their own backyard, mostly about tax and business initiatives, by members of the regionally influential Northern Virginia Technology Council, a voice for suburban Washington, D.C.’s burgeoning Internet and information technology industry.