Obama looks to give new momentum to McAuliffe
By Julia Manchester - 10/23/21 08:05 AM EDT Former President Obama is hitting the campaign trail with Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe on Saturday in hopes of energizing a relatively unexcited Democratic base ahead of what is expected to be a nail biter of an election next month.
McAuliffe and his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin are neck and neck in recent polls, but it’s the enthusiasm gap between the two parties that has Democrats on edge. A Monmouth University poll showed 49 percent of Republican voters saying they are more enthusiastic than usual to vote in the election compared to 26 percent of Democrats.
Democrats say the issue is that the election is taking place a year after a brutally exhausting presidential election amid a global pandemic, and that President Biden’s approval ratings in the Old Dominion are down. But they say with the help of Obama, arguably the most popular Democrat in the country, they will be able to fire up their base.
“It looks like a turnout election,” said Mark Rozell, dean and Ruth D. and John T. Hazel chair in public policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
“The Republicans have the enthusiasm,” he said. “Their base is excited. The Democratic base though, even if not as enthusiastic at this stage.”
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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/578097-obama-looks-to-give-new-momentum-to-mcauliffe
