Biden to campaign with Terry McAuliffe in toss-up Virginia election

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Republican Glenn Youngkin surges to tie with McAuliffe in polls

Republican Lt. Gov. nominee Winsome Sears on the top issues for Virginia voters ahead of the gubernatorial election.

As polls show the Virginia gubernatorial election neck-and-neck between former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D-Va., and Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, President Biden is scheduled to appear with the Democrat on the campaign trail.

The McAuliffe campaign put out a media advisory alerting the press that Biden would campaign with McAuliffe in Arlington on Tuesday, exactly one week before the election.

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McAuliffe announced the Biden event along with a slew of events featuring politicians from Virginia and the nation at large. On Saturday, former President Barack Obama will campaign with McAuliffe in Richmond. On Sunday, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams and DNC Chair Jaime Harrison will rally for McAuliffe in Charlottesville. 

(Reuters / AP )

The most recent polls have put McAuliffe and Youngkin in a dead heat, with Monmouth University finding both candidates at 46%. The Democrat still leads in the RealClearPolitics polling average, 48.8% to McAuliffe's 47%.

Amid tense school board meetings in Fairfax and Loudoun counties that have drawn national media coverage, McAuliffe declared in a debate, "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." Fox News polling has shown that most Virginia likely voters – and 57 percent of Virginia parents – disagreed with that statement, and Youngkin has pressed McAuliffe on it. While McAuliffe claimed that Youngkin took the statement out of context, the Youngkin campaign launched an ad showing McAuliffe standing by the statement seven times. 

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Both Youngkin and McAuliffe have pledged to pay Virginia teachers more, investing in education. Youngkin has faulted McAuliffe for lowering standards in the state's schools, however. While McAuliffe served as governor between 2014 and 2018, he signed a bill ordering a deemphasis on standardized test results in accrediting Virginia public schools. While 88 schools were denied accreditation under the old standards in 2017, no school has been denied accreditation since the new standards went into effect in 2018. 

Glenn Youngkin addresses the crowd in Burke, Va. (Tyler O’Neil/Fox News)

McAuliffe has touted the deemphasis on standardized testing as a positive, while Youngkin faulted him for it.

McAuliffe has also championed the strong economic performance of Virginia during his previous term, promising a return to growth. Meanwhile, Youngkin has championed tax cuts and entrepreneurship programs.

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Early voting has already begun in the race, and Election Day is on November 2.

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate former Governor Terry McAuliffe debates Republican nominee and businessman Glenn Youngkin at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va. on Sept. 16, 2021  (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) (AP)