Democrats fear LOSING Virginia as polls tighten and Republican gubernatorial challenger Youngkin SNUBS Trumps by refusing to take part in his tele-rally in the state
- The surprisingly tight contest has exposed the depth of the party’s dependence on Trump as a message and motivator
- Republican newcomer Glenn Youngkin is running against Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor and close ally of President Joe Biden
- Youngkin said on Saturday that he will not take part in Donald Trump’s virtual ‘tele-rally’ rally for his campaign on Monday
- Biden accused Youngkin of keeping Trump at an arm’s length while privately approving of his endorsement and cashing in political points with his followers
- A loss in the Virginia governor’s race, long considered a bellwether for midterm elections, would trigger all-out panic among Democrats far beyond Virginia
- A poll by The Washington Post showed the candidates are deadlocked, with McAuliffe leading Youngkin 49 to 48percent among likely voters
Democrats in Virginia are scrambling to stave off disaster in the state’s governor’s race – the most competitive major election since Donald Trump left the White House.
The surprisingly tight contest has exposed the depth of the party’s dependence on Trump as a message and motivator.
Public polling has been shifting in Republican newcomer Glenn Youngkin’s direction in recent weeks, while Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor and close ally of President Joe Biden, has struggled to energize his base as Biden’s approval ratings sink.
Youngkin – who has campaigned on ‘fighting back against the Radical Left and putting families first’ – on Saturday that he will not take part in Donald Trump’s virtual ‘tele-rally’ for his campaign on Monday.
‘I’m not going to be engaged in the tele-town hall,’ said Youngkin. ‘The teams are talking, I’m sure.’
On Saturday, Trump publicly backed Youngkin, and predicted the the controversy surrounding the school boards in the state would boost Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin’s chances of winning Tuesday’s election.
Parents in the state have been fighting back against woke school boards where meetings have become a public battlefield. Hot button topics include banned books from school libraries parents had deemed inappropriate, the rights of transgender students, and the teaching of critical race theory.
In June, a father was arrested at a Loudoun County School Board meeting after he confronted board members about his 15-year-old daughter being raped in a gender-neutral bathroom by a boy, 15, wearing a skirt. The boy, who has not been named because he is a minor, has been charged and will be sentenced in November. He has also been charged with sexually assaulting another girl at a different school in the same Virginia school district in October.
‘I’ve been watching the school board hearings more closely than I ever have, to be honest, and it’s so interesting,’ the former president told Fox News on Saturday.
‘The parents are incensed. They’re not terrorists. They’re people that are just so upset.’
‘I think he’s going to do very well,’ Trump said of Youngkin.
The former president hit out at McAuliffe for saying that parents should have no say in what their children are taught in school.
‘McAuliffe made a tremendous mistake. It’s not a tremendous mistake from his standpoint,’ Trump said. ‘He believes it.’
Trump said McAuliffe’s statement would be just as ‘bad’ as Hillary Clinton’s infamous comment calling supporters of the former president ‘deplorables.’
‘I think this is going to cause him tremendous problems come Tuesday,’ he said.
Trump predicted that the Democratic strategy of linking Youngkin with him would backfire.
Although Trump hinted at a possible visit to Virginia in support of Youngkin, plans never materialized.
While Trump was absent, Biden attended a campaign event for McAuliffe in Arlington, Virginia.
Biden accused Youngkin of keeping Trump at an arm’s length while privately approving of his endorsement and cashing in political points with Trump followers.
‘Terry’s opponent has made all of his private pledges of loyalty to Donald Trump,’ Biden said.
‘But what’s really interesting to me, he won’t stand next to Donald Trump. Think about it. He won’t allow Donald Trump to campaign for him in this state. He’s willing to pledge his loyalty to Trump in private,’ Biden added, ‘Why not in public? What’s he trying to hide? Is there a problem with Trump being here? Is he embarrassed?’
In the early stages of his campaign, Youngkin said that ‘Trump represents so much of why [he is]running.’
He has also entertained claims that the 2020 Presidential election was rigged.