With one week left before a winner is called in the competitive Virginia gubernatorial race, Democrats are ramping up campaign efforts for Democrat Terry McAuliffe amid growing support for Glenn Youngkin, a Trump-endorsed Republican.
Youngkin drew thousands of supporters last weekend while holding rallies in Henrico and Chesapeake County, Va. – two liberal strongholds that Joe Biden won during the 2020 presidential election.
Although McAuliffe’s campaign events have gathered less people than Youngkin’s, former President Barack Obama drew a large crowd on behalf of McAuliffe last weekend during a stop at the Virginia Commonwealth University which is a liberal stronghold. However, Obama’s popularity in the Commonwealth State is considerably more favorable than Joe Biden’s. According to a Trafalgar poll, Biden’s favorability in Virginia is a meager 39.9 percent.
Biden is scheduled to appear alongside McAuliffe at a campaign rally in Arlington on Tuesday, Oct. 26. Biden campaigned for McAuliffe in July, but spoke to a substantially smaller audience than Obama’s from last weekend.
Kamala Harris appeared in numerous videos being played in churches urging black churchgoers to vote for McAuliffe. However, Harris could cause churches to lose their tax-exempt status since it is in violation of Internal Revenue Service rules which do not allow churches to actively promote a specific campaign.
McAuliffe also held events alongside Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams and falsely claimed that the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election was stolen. He attempted to spread conspiracy theories that Republicans “took the votes away” from Abrams.
President Donald Trump has not appeared in Virginia to campaign for Youngkin, however, he gave the candidate his official endorsement in May, urging residents to say “yes to Patriot Glenn Youngkin!”
Youngkin and McAuliffe are tied in the race to become Virginia’s next governor, according to a recent Monmouth poll. According to the survey, McAuliffe and Youngkin are tied with 46 percent to 46 percent ahead of the election.
Former Virginia Attorney General and 2013 Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli told Fox & Friends that he believes Youngkin will defeat McAuliffe in next week’s election.
“You name people who have come in to Virginia for Terry McAuliffe, nobody’s had to come in for Glenn Youngkin,” said Cuccinelli.
“I’ve won and I’ve lost statewide in Virginia, and right now, Virginia feels like winning for Glenn Youngkin,” he continued. “I think this is going to be a Republican sweep. That’s what it feels like right now, and I don’t see anything changing, certainly not the arrival of Joe Biden on this side of the Potomac to change that direction.”
Virginia’s gubernatorial election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021.