Obama to campaign with McAuliffe in Virginia governor's race
Former President Barack Obama will campaign with fellow
Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the final stretch of the Virginia governor's race.
“The stakes could not be greater,” McAuliffe said, as he
announced the news Tuesday morning on MSNBC.
McAuliffe's race against the GOP nominee, first-time
political candidate Glenn Youngkin, is tightening, according to the latest
polls. His effort to win a second, nonconsecutive term in office is one of only
two regularly scheduled governor's races in the country this year and is being
closely watched for indications of voter sentiment ahead of next year's
midterms.
McAuliffe's campaign announced that Obama will join him in
Richmond on Oct. 23 to mobilize Virginians during early voting, which began
weeks ago and runs in person through Oct. 30.
Obama rallied Democrats in Virginia's capital city in 2017
before Ralph Northam beat Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie by
nearly 9 percentage points. He'll follow other high-profile Democrats visiting
the commonwealth to support McAuliffe.
First lady Jill Biden is set to visit Friday. Stacey Abrams,
the voting rights activist, grassroots organizer and former Georgia Democratic
gubernatorial candidate, will campaign with McAuliffe in Norfolk and northern
Virginia on Sunday. Also Sunday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will
campaign with Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, a McAuliffe protege.
McAuliffe initially said on “Morning Joe” that Obama would
be coming Saturday, in a way that suggested the visit would precede Abrams’
events. His campaign then had to clarify his remarks.
McAuliffe stumped in July with President Joe Biden, whose
popularity has slumped, according to a recent poll conducted by The Associated
Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The McAuliffe campaign said
Tuesday Biden would return later in the month.
Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Youngkin but has
not visited Virginia to support the former private equity executive.
McAuliffe, who preceded Northam in office, called Youngkin a
“Trump wannabe” on Tuesday and said a win for Youngkin would get Trump “off the
mat” and kick off another presidential run in 2024.
“We can't let it happen,” he said.
Youngkin has said he would vote for Trump in 2024 if Trump
is the Republican nominee.
In a written statement, Youngkin campaign spokeswoman
Macaulay Porter said voters are rejecting McAuliffe's platform, “so his
response is to bring in more politicians to help draw a crowd larger than
twelve people.”
Election Day is Nov. 2, and Tuesday is the last day to
register to vote.
Source abcnews
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