President stumps for Mcauliffe in Virginia
Paints governor’s race as rejection of Trump
ARLINGTON, Va. — President Joe Biden framed the Virginia governor’s race as a repudiation of his predecessor, tying the Republican candidate to former President Donald Trump as he campaigned Tuesday night for Democrat Terry Mcauliffe.
Polls have shown Mcauliffe tied with Republican former business executive Glenn Youngkin with the election a week away — and the president’s own popularity is on the decline.
In the final days of the race, both candidates are focused on turning out their base supporters.
“I ran against Donald Trump and Terry is running against an acolyte of Donald Trump,” Biden said.
He charged that Youngkin “not only embraces some of the essential lack of character, he endorses Donald Trump’s bad ideas and bad record.”
A loss by Mcauliffe — or perhaps even a narrow victory — would be an ominous sign for Democrats already likely facing stiff political headwinds in next year’s midterm elections, when their narrow control of the House and Senate will be on the line.
The party that wins the White House historically losses congressional seats in the next election, and Virginia, this cycle’s top offyear race, is seen as a key test of whether Democrats can head into 2022 with momentum.
How much help Biden will offer Mcauliffe is unclear, though. The president has seen the percentage of Americans approving of his job performance fall after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and amid an economy that remains far from fully healed as the nation continues to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic.
Youngkin has made defending parental rights in school classrooms a centerpiece of his gubernatorial run.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Mcdaniel said Youngkin is “ensuring every Virginian has a say in their child’s education.”
“With an unprecedented amount of Republican enthusiasm, Virginians are ready to reject Terry Mcauliffe and Joe Biden,” Mcdaniel said in a statement.
Biden made his second trip to Arlington since Mcauliffe launched his gubernatorial bid. He’s the latest in a parade of Democratic stars to flood the state, hoping to fire up the party’s base.
The president follows former President Barack Obama, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and first lady Jill Biden.
Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign for Mcauliffe on Friday, her second stop in as many weeks. In Dumfries, about 30 miles south of Washington last week, Harris called the race “tight” and warned against Democratic complacency.
Youngkin campaigned in Clarksville and Danville, not far from the Virginia-north Carolina border, on Tuesday, part of a 50-stop bus tour.
“This is no longer a campaign,” Youngkin said as he visited suburban Richmond recently. “This is a movement.”