The top contenders in Virginia’s tightly contested governor’s race spent the weekend stumping the state and making their final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s ballot.
Democrat Terry McAuliffe rallied Sunday in suburban Richmond and northern Virginia — two areas he must perform well in to stave off disaster as public polling has shifted in Republican Glenn Youngkin’s direction.
Youngkin, meanwhile, spent Sunday in the far southwest corner of the state after campaigning in vote-rich northern Virginia on Saturday. He attended a prayer breakfast, a worship service, a barbecue at the home of a powerful state lawmaker, a meet-and-greet in the state’s farthest-flung corner and an evening get-out-the-vote rally.
McAuliffe, who served as the state’s governor from 2014 to 2018, has struggled in an election that many presumed would be a Democratic cake-walk after President Biden beat Donald Trump in the state by over 10 points last November.
Youngkin’s campaign has been boosted by outrage over a variety of issues related to schools and education, including whether parents should get a say in what books are or are not assigned to their children.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday, McAuliffe dismissed concerns about schools as a “racist dog whistle.” He claimed critical race theory was not taught in the state’s school — despite a presentation on the Virginia Department of Education’s website urging teachers to “embrace” the theory.
The former advisor to Bill and Hillary Clinton claimed “everyone clapped” after his controversial comments in a debate last month that, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
“The question should be, should parents be allowed to take books off of shelves? Should that be left to parents or left to school boards and others who do this every single day?” he asked. “Everyone clapped when I said it.”
With Post wires