'If McAuliffe loses, people will attempt to pin it on Biden,' pollster Frank Luntz said. Still, McAuliffe has urged fellow Democrats in Washington to pass major infrastructure and economic legislationto prove to Virginia voters that Democrats can get things done.Īs they seek to win control of Congress, Republicans next year are expected to use Biden to bash congressional Democrats – a strategy they will amp up if Youngkin defeats McAuliffe on Tuesday. In an NBC News poll released Sunday, only 42% of adults said they approved of Biden's job performance, down 7 percentage points from August. This week, Democrats will be looking to see if, or how much, Biden's negative ratings hurt McAuliffe.

In years past, the unpopularity of the current president – whether it was Bill Clinton or Donald Trump – has hurt his party's gubernatorial nominee in Virginia. He also denies any friction with Youngkin, saying in a written statement Monday that 'we get along very well together and strongly believe in many of the same policies.' What About Biden? 'Can you still get Trump voters out when Trump is not on the ballot,' said Jessica Taylor, the Senate and governors' editor for The Cook Political Report.įor his part, Trump says he and his voters will decide Youngkin's fate. Youngkin has not held campaign events with Trump, as McAuliffe has with President Biden. The Republican candidate is using some Trump issues – tax cuts, de-regulation, parental rights in education – but has kept Trump himself at arms length. Political analysts and Republicans have their own questions about how the Trump factor will play out in Virginia, the most important being: Will hard-core Trump voters show up to vote for a moderate figure like Youngkin? TheRealClear Politics website average of recent polls gives Youngkin a very slight lead, well within the margins of error.

While Virginia has become a more Democratic state over the past decade – McAuliffe himself won the governor's race in 2013 – the current contest is too close to call, according to a spate of recent polls. He has cast Youngkin as a 'Trump wannabe' and said the former businessman will push Trump-like economic policies that favor the wealthy and social policies that discriminate against people of color. McAuliffe has based much of his gubernatorial campaign on Trump's unpopularity. Watch: Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin have two different visions for Virginia's future Gallery: Virginia governor's race remains close ahead of election day

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