The race between Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin is in a legit dead-heat with less than one week to go until Election Day, and unfortunately for McAuliffe, the hits just keep on coming – happening at the worst possible time as his campaign continues to struggle to get back on solid footing after the catastrophic blunder he made last month when he admitted during a debate that “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
Last time we spoke with ex-Governor of Virginia, Doug Wilder. He wants another non-consecutive year. Doug Wilder – a Democrat and the only black governor in the state’s history – absolutely unloaded on McAuliffe during an interview with a local TV station, hitting him right where it hurts: black voters, who McAuliffe desperately needs to show up on Tuesday. Wilder accused McAuliffe, in essence, of using Gov. Ralph Northam’s embarrassing blackface scandal as a “springboard” to make a political comeback by appealing to black voters, who Wilder claimed in so many words were being shamelessly lied and pandered to by McAuliffe.
On top of Wilder’s blistering attack of McAuliffe yesterday was a surprising report from CBS News this week which highlighted how Youngkin was appealing to independent voters Who had supported Democrats in the past?McAuliffe could face another disaster if other core Democrat constituents fail to support him with the necessary numbers to win. Here’s what one of the independent voters who they talked to had to say:
Kendra Lee (an independent voter) is an excellent example of how close this race is. “I cried when Hillary Clinton lost,” Lee said. “If someone told me I’d ever be not considering voting for a Democrat I would have thought you were crazy, you were out of your mind.”
The mother-of-two voted for Republican Glenn Youngkin. After a year of virtual learning and now mask mandates in schools, she said she trusts him more with her kids’ education.
“I don’t think he would have as much governmental restrictions,” Lee said on Youngkin’s appeal. “I think that he would leave it more in terms of local control.”
[…]
The following questions were asked of the [vaccine and mask] mandates, Lee said, “I just feel like I know what’s best for my family better than a politician does.”
The men also had a conversation with a man, who stated he supports Biden but was inclined towards Youngkin. This would have a direct message for Biden. What was the message?
“That there is some tepidness around the president’s agenda. There are a lot of concerns about the choices he’s made,” independent voter Robert Clarke told CBS News.
You can watch:
Wow: CBS Evening News did some positive coverage on Republican Glenn Youngkin during the race for Virginia governor. Norah O’Donnell talked to an independent voter, who voted for Hillary and now supports Youngkin. Also, she noted Youngkin’s win with parents/on Education pic.twitter.com/YJH4DQHxfk
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) October 25, 2021
If McAuliffe’s support is declining among Virginian independent voters, this would be consistent with a nationwide trend that has seen the support of Joe Biden among the independents drop over the past few months due to the failings in his government.
With the race being as close as it is, and with frustrated black Democrats like Wilder chipping away at McAuliffe’s black support and independent voters who previously supported Democrats wavering, the perfect storm is forming for a possible political “upset” next week that no one saw coming. Is it possible? I’m not into making predictions, but I will say I’m starting to feel really good about things.
That said, even if Youngkin loses, you can’t say he and his supporters didn’t put up a hell of a fight against McAuliffe. Even in races where Democrats are “supposed” to win, Republicans should never make it easy for them. Never. You must make them do it. If they do lose they’ll be able show us who they are by complaining about it for weeks or months.
FlashbackTerry McAuliffe Loses it When Virginia Sheriff Asks if he Supports the Defunding of Police
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