The former President is scheduled to join a rally for Terry McAuliffe next week, another sign of the urgency national Democrats feel in Virginia's election campaign.
McAuliffe announced Obama's visit Wednesday — scheduled for Oct. 23 in Richmond — during an appearance on MSNBC Morning Joe, Tuesday. There is going to be a lot of excitement, McAuliffe said. The stakes are enormous. Virginia holds its election to governor every four years in the year after the election, making the contest both a referendum on the party in White House and a bellwether for the following midterm races. McAuliffe served as governor from 2014 to 2018, but state law prohibits consecutive terms.
The race is shaping up to be highly competitive. A poll last week by Christopher Newport University placed Glenn Youngkin at 49 percent and Republican McAuliffe at 44 percent, within the 4.2 point margin of error. The same poll in August found McAuliffe - lead 9 points.
McAuliffe's will be the latest in a string of high-profile Democratic assists for Obama. First lady McAuliffe will campaign with Jill Biden on Friday in Henrico County. Stacey Abrams, a former state legislator in Norfolk and later becoming a national figure after losing a close race to governor in 2018 is expected to appear with McAuliffe in Georgia on Sunday.
McAuliffe campaigned with Joe Biden in July, but McAuliffe acknowledged the president's sagging poll numbers since then. Youngkin has also attempted to brand McAuliffe as a clone of former President Donald Trump who has endorsed the Republican nominee and remains a polarizing figure.
If I didn't win this, this would be as I say the comeback of Donald Trump, McAuliffe said on Tuesday. This would lift him off the mat. He would use this Launchpad to campaign in 2022 and then set him up for running again for President in 2024.