Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will hit the campaign trail with former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in his bid for a second term in the position.
Abrams will spend next Sunday with the former Virginia governor visiting three churches in Norfolk and taking part in a “Souls For The Polls” event in the city. The pair will then head to a grassroots event in Northern Virginia.
The news comes as McAuliffe is in a dead heat with Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin. Many are viewing the race as an indication of how the midterm elections will go for both parties. McAuliffe told CNN one of the reasons the race is so close is this is a midterm election.
“This is an off-off-year. If you
look at the history of Virginia, it’s not a presidential year turnout. Turnouts go from like 70% down to somewhere in the 40s,” McAuliffe, who won a close gubernatorial election in 2013, told CNN‘s Dana Bash. “Listen, we’re going to win this race because I’m right on the issues,” McAuliffe told Bash.While Democrats are tying Youngkin to former President Donald Trump and
his election lies to push their base to get out and vote, Republicans are attacking Abrams for claiming her 2018 loss to Brian Kemp was due to voter suppression.Republican Governors Association spokesperson Maddie Anderson told The Hill the GOP has the energy in this race, and she believes Abrams helping McAuliffe is a sign that Democrats are in trouble.
“McAuliffe knows that while his team is asleep at the wheel, Republicans have the energy on our side,” Anderson said in a statement. “His latest act of desperation is to call in Stacey Abrams, who has yet to concede her 2018 loss. This begs the question: if McAuliffe loses to Glenn Youngkin
, will he concede or will he follow in the footsteps of his next surrogate?”