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With a week to go before statewide elections, Virginia becomes a political battleground between Democrats and Republicans for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and the 100-member House of Delegates to the General Assembly.
It is the last week for Virginians to cast an early ballot in the 2021 election. Early voting began Sept. 17 and will end this Saturday, Oct. 30.
According to The Hill, the race became a litmus test for President Biden as the White House can test the political climate of voters in key states.
Both political groupings are beginning to move their strongest chips to campaign for their candidates. This is an election that could be considered as a referendum for Biden.
On the one hand, the Democratic candidate and former governor, Terry McAuliffe, has been endorsed by former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. However, Biden is not in a good moment, since according to polls, his support has plummeted.
On the other hand, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Glenn Youngkin has the support of former President Donald Trump, who during a call praised the politician’s conditions and attacked the opponent as a lousy governor.
Youngkin also has the support of lieutenant governor candidate Winsome Sears and state Sen. Amanda Chase (R).
In the battle for Virginia, recent polls show the Democratic candidate narrowly ahead of the Republican candidate, a situation that could change, especially given Youngkin’s favorable economic management proposals.
Virginia, which does not allow its governor to serve consecutive terms in office, is one of two states holding regularly scheduled gubernatorial elections this fall.
Terry McAuliffe, ‘nervous’ about winning Virginia
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe went so far as to assert in a televised debate that “parents should be telling schools what they should teach”; an assertion that now places him with less support from parent voters in the state.
A Cygnal poll of 816 likely voters Oct. 19-21 shows 56% of parents said they would vote for Republican candidate Youngkin, who has asserted that the Democratic Party wants to “control everything” through COVID-19 mandates.
“Independent voters and parents of K-12 students are stampeding to support Republicans Glenn Youngkin, Winsome Sears, Jason Miyares and GOP state house candidates,” Cygnal executive director Brent Buchanan said in the release.
On Sunday, Oct. 24, Axios spoke with McAuliffe about his campaign and noted that his attitude has taken on an air of tension, bordering on panic.
According to Axios, McAuliffe’s staff informed him that his planned 20-minute interview “would be limited to just five minutes.” In addition, the news portal described McAuliffe as agitated when asked about his campaign’s efforts to link his Republican opponent to former President Trump.
McAuliffe previously showed some agitation on Tuesday when he abruptly ended an interview on local Virginia television.
“You should’ve asked better questions. You should have asked the questions your viewers are interested in,” the Democratic candidate told the reporter as he got up and walked away.
McAuliffe, who believes parents should not tell schools what to teach, seems to believe he has the power to teach reporters what to ask.
Sabrina Martín Rondon is a Venezuelan journalist. Her source is politics and economics. She is a specialist in corporate communications and is committed to the task of dismantling the supposed benefits of socialism // Sabrina Martín Rondon es periodista venezolana. Su fuente es la política y economía. Es especialista en comunicaciones corporativas y se ha comprometido con la tarea de desmontar las supuestas bondades del socialismo