The start of a new video series from Youngkin; McAuliffe urges workers to come to Virginia from Texas; and more from Virginia politics.

The latest in Virginia politics

Sep 13, 2021

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Youngkin releases the first video in a series entitled “All Talk Terry”

Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin released a the first video in a series that his campaign says will “highlight all talk, no action politician Terry McAuliffe’s same old recycled rhetoric and promises that he failed to deliver on the first time he was governor.”

McAuliffe’s campaign responded to the new video in a statement provided to Virginia Scope. “Glenn Youngkin has already shown Virginians he will be a failure when it comes to controlling this pandemic and rebuilding Virginia’s economy,” said Renzo Olivari, a spokesperson for McAuliffe. “He peddles such dangerous anti-vaxx and anti-mask rhetoric that doctors in Virginia have asked him to stop undermining measures that will prevent the spread of this virus. As Virginia’s 72nd Governor, Terry created 200,000 new jobs, cut unemployment in every locality and he is the only candidate in this race who has released 19 new policy plans that will get Virginians vaccinated, keep our kids in schools, and create a better future for all Virginians.”

Water Cooler

It is debate week in Virginia. Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe will meet in Southwest Virginia for the first gubernatorial debate of 2021.
Democratic leaders plan to do a press tour across the commonwealth ahead of the first gubernatorial debate. Today, they start in Norfolk with DPVA Chair Susan Swecker and multiple Hampton Roads delegates.

McAuliffe urges Salesforce employees to leave Texas and move to Virginia

Salesforce sent their employees a message notifying them that they will assist in helping them relocate if they live in Texas and are afraid of the new laws that place a ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is present.

In response, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe invited those employees to come to Virginia.

“My message to companies like Salesforce is clear: come to Virginia – where we remain open and welcoming, and opposed to dangerous abortion bans that put women's health and lives at risk – all of which Glenn Youngkin would enact as governor,” McAuliffe said in a statement Monday.

His Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin has not stated specifically rather he would support similar restrictions in Virginia - though he has said he does support abortion in extreme circumstances like incest and rape - something the new law in Texas does not allow.

President Biden’s Justice Department is suing Texas over the new law.

“We've seen these extreme right-wing attacks on reproductive health in Virginia before, and as governor I fought back against every single one,” McAuliffe continued. “I kept women's health clinics open when extreme right wing Republicans like Glenn Youngkin tried to force them to close, and I vetoed every anti-women's health bill including multiple efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. This dangerous Texas law is exactly what Glenn has in mind when he says he wants to go ‘on offense’ to ban abortion in the Commonwealth. The fact is it is dangerous, it would harm our economy, and I will not let it happen in Virginia.”

Democrats wanted Trump gone. Now they want him on the ballot. - Washington Post

By David Weigel, Colby Itkowitz and Gregory S. Schneider

In Virginia, 45 days of early voting will begin on Friday. New Jersey will allow 11 days of early voting for the first time ever, and voters who cast mail ballots last year can automatically receive ballots for this election. That gives the campaigns time to track who has voted — and to nag those who have not. In California, every registered voter received a mail ballot — which some conservatives, led by Trump, have suggested will lead to a “rigged” election.

“Democrats are relying on a stale message as they face problematic national trends that depress their turnout and repel independent voters at a rapid pace,” said Jesse Hunt, a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association, which has invested in all three races. “For many people, living under Joe Biden and Democrat governors has meant weak leadership and ineffective response to the pandemic through the first eight months of this year.”

A new poll shows support for vaccine requirements

According to a new poll from CNN, the public is split about evenly, 51% to 49%, on whether requiring proof of vaccination for everyday activities is an acceptable way to increase the vaccination rate, or an unacceptable infringement on personal rights.

But there's greater backing for requiring vaccines in many specific instances. More than half of Americans now say they support requiring vaccinations for office workers returning to the workplace (54%), students attending in-person classes (55%) and patrons attending sporting events or concerts (55%), although fewer (41%) support requiring vaccinations for a shopper to enter a grocery store.

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