New ad from McAuliffe, Politifact says Youngkin was correct, and more from Virginia politics
The latest in Virginia politics
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State of the Race: McAuliffe v. Youngkin
This week started early after a poll was released Sunday showing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe four points ahead of the Republican candidate, Glenn Youngkin.
The poll shows the Republicans have already made gains in repairing their image after Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency and a 10-point loss in the commonwealth last November.
But one poll is no reason for panic or relief from either party. “It’s always dangerous to draw too many conclusions from a single measure, especially early in a race,” said Richard Meagher, an associate professor of political science at Randolph Macon University. “The particular pollster, in this case, JMCA, does not have a long track record so they are not rated very highly by 538’s pollster ratings. That doesn’t necessarily mean this poll is inaccurate, just that we don’t have the same level of confidence we might have with a more established pollster.”
The poll showed the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, Del. Hala Ayala, with a six-point lead over Republican nominee Winsome Sears.
Attorney General Mark Herring had the largest lead with a seven-point lead over his Republican challenger Del. Jason Miyares.
“Overall, I worry about poll accuracy for all pollsters,” Meagher said. “There’s an art as well as science to polls – the art of matching your sample to who you think is actually going to vote. And estimating who will actually vote has become increasingly difficult as politics has been increasingly in flux over the past few years.”
Republicans went on the offensive with an ad Monday morning trying to tie the scandals and talking points from the past year to McAuliffe via Governor Northam, an endorser and public supporter of McAuliffe. Northam was the lieutenant governor under McAuliffe and ideologically both men are quite similar.
This is part of the double-edged sword for McAuliffe essentially running as an incumbent — he will be able to run on his record as governor from four years ago and his name ID is nearly universal, but he will also be attached by Republicans to every policy and mishap that happened during the Northam administration as well as his own.
But Democrats are moving forward with careful optimism as Youngkin appears to be in a better position to challenge them than Ed Gillespie was in 2017.
New Ad from McAuliffe highlights Business Insider article
Business Insider recently published an article showing highlights from an event four years ago where Glenn Youngkin says nice things about Terry McAuliffe. Youngkin was an executive at The Carlyle Group at the time.
McAuliffe released the following ad Friday afternoon highlighting the event.
Youngkin that as governor he will push the General Assembly to pass a state law adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism
According to FBI crime statistics, the number of anti-Semitic hate crimes in the United States is on the rise. This week, Texas became the first state in the nation to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
“Virginia must take clear and concrete action to stop all forms of anti-Semitism, and when I’m governor, we will,” said Youngkin. “I will push the General Assembly to pass a law adopting the internationally recognized definition of anti-Semitism, and I will form a commission to examine and address anti-Semitic incidents in Virginia. Our Jewish friends and neighbors must know that we stand with them against the tide of hate and discrimination. Virginia must lead the nation in living up to our most cherished ideals and being a welcoming, safe community where everyone enjoys dignity and respect regardless of their identity, color or creed.”
The leadership from the House Republican caucus cheered the announcement from Youngkin. "Antisemitism has no place in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Combating this ancient hatred takes all of us, but we cannot undertake meaningful actions without a firm platform from which to work. We applaud Glenn Youngkin's commitment to taking this important step, and we look forward to working with him during his term as Governor to see it enacted into law by a Republican House of Delegates."
PolitiFact VA: More People Moving Away Than Coming To Virginia
by Warren Fiske
Youngkin holds two Democrats responsible: Current Gov. Ralph Northam and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who led the state from 2014-2018 and is Youngkin’s opponent this year. Virginia is the only state that bars governors from serving successive terms.
We fact-checked Youngkin’s talking-point claim that more people are leaving Virginia than coming in and found it to be correct, although the reasons for the outward migration go far beyond any governor’s control.
Governor Northam Proclaims June as Immigrant Heritage Month in Virginia
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