Biden Set To Campaign For Struggling Dem Governor Candidates In NJ, VA Despite Terrible Poll Numbers

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Oct 25, 2021

While President Joe Biden’s poll numbers continue to go swirly around the toilet bowl as multiple crises rock his administration, that’s not going to stop him from stumping for struggling Democrats who are currently seeking to win governorships in both New Jersey and Virginia.

Politico reported that the White House is really hoping this is a good news cycle in the week before the voters located in both states will be deciding who their next governors will be. The president is currently campaigning for Gov. Phil Murphy in New Jersey, who is still expected to win re-election despite what has become a very tight race over the course of the last few weeks.

via Daily Wire:

In May, polls showed Murphy up 26 points over Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli. Last week, a poll from Emerson College showed the race had tightened considerably, with Murphy leading by just 6 points. Politico reported that New Jersey pols have warned “that there is a serious lack of enthusiasm among Democrats in the state.”

On Tuesday, Biden will travel to Virginia to campaign for former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) who is running to be one of the few politicians in state history to serve two non-consecutive terms as governor (Virginia law prohibits governors from serving two consecutive terms). McAuliffe had led Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin in every poll, but in the past week, the race has become tied.

The president’s approval rating is currently sitting somewhere in the low 40s. Which, for those who couldn’t already guess, is the opposite of good.

“Earlier this month, McAuliffe acknowledged that Biden’s unpopularity was creating “headwinds” in the Old Dominion. The Daily Wire previously reported that McAuliffe made the comments during a virtual campaign event, suggesting the president had become a liability in Virginia,” the report said.

“We got to get Democrats out to vote. We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington,” McAuliffe went on to tell his supporters during the event. “As you know, the president is unpopular today, unfortunately, here in Virginia so we have got to plow through.”

A spokesperson for McAuliffe then went on to tell Politico after the event that “Terry’s point was clearly that Democrats can’t take anything for granted and must turn out to vote this year: Glenn Youngkin is running on a divisive, Trumpian agenda that puts election conspiracy theories and banning abortion first.”

The race happening in Virginia has also tightened significantly, especially when it comes to the issue of education. During the last gubernatorial debate last month, McAuliffe stated that he was

“not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decisions.”

“I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” McAuliffe said.

Youngkin then slammed McAuliffe for his statements, putting out several TV ads that featured the comments made by him. McAuliffe then doubled-down on his statements and released his own ads, which claimed that he had been taken out of context.

“In New Jersey on Monday, Biden and Murphy visited East End Elementary School, where Biden apparently apologized for knocking over a student’s infrastructure project. ‘Whoa! I’m sorry, that was my fault,’ Biden said, according to Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs,” the Daily Wire reported.