The White House is in dire need of victory in Virginia

The White House is in desperate need of Democrat Terry McAuliffe to win next month’s gubernatorial race in Virginia after a brutal spell for President BidenJoe Biden Biden Announces Arts and Humanities Endowment Appointments Biden and Xi Agree to Honor Taiwan On The Money Agreement – Presented by NRHC – Democrats Break Rubicon Debt Ceiling PLUS.

If McAuliffe falls to Republican Glenn Youngkin, the White House knows this will be seen as an indicator for next year’s midterm election and a sign of Biden’s popularity and influence fading. .

Biden beat the old one President TrumpDonald Trump Biden Announces On The Money Arts & Humanities Endowment Nominations – Presented By NRHC – Democrats Break Debt Ceiling Rubicon Trump Backs Diehl For Massachusetts Governor, Slams ‘RINO’ Baker MORE 10 points in last year’s presidential contest, and the White House is expected to step up its involvement in the race in its final weeks.

The President campaigned for McAuliffe in July and Vice President Harris organized a fundraiser for the Democrat last month.

A source close to White House thought said Biden and his team took the election very seriously and were “heavily invested” in the outcome of a race where the polls show a competitive game.

Advisors to the president are in regular contact with the McAuliffe camp.

“We always knew it would be a close race, so it’s no surprise to us,” the source said.

It’s also a personal fight for Biden, Democrats say.

“Virginia is the first high-stakes opportunity to test the president’s agenda on voters, so the stakes are certainly high,” Democratic strategist Joel Payne said. “It goes without saying that Virginia’s result is certainly very important to the president.”

Some compare the battle to the Virginia gubernatorial race in 2009, the last time a first-term Democrat held the Oval Office. The Democrats lost the race, and the former president obamaBarack Hussein Obama Biden Announces Arts and Humanities Endowment Nominations Appeals Court Rules Against Blue States in SALT Cap Lawsuit Gail Huff Brown, Wife of Scott Brown, Joins Race in Congress in New Hampshire MOREThe party was wiped out mid-term of the following year.

Republican Bob McDonnell’s victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds was the last time the GOP won the Governor’s Mansion.

McAuliffe holds a small lead over Youngkin in recent polls less than a month before election day. A compilation of surveys from the political site FiveThirtyEight shows it with a 3 point lead – 47% to 44%.

Biden has had a tough few months and has seen his own approval rating sag. He needs legislative victories – and political victories for his party.

“The White House is in desperate need of a victory here because of late they’ve had nada, nothing,” said a Democratic donor. “They need this win for a lot of reasons, but mostly for a hell of a boost.”

Senior Biden officials are already hedging their bets.

Asked last week whether the race is a referendum on the agenda of Biden, the White House press secretary Jen psakiJen PsakiBiden indicates he would sign a reconciliation bill with the Hyde Amendment. Biden’s national security adviser to meet with China’s top diplomat. replied, “I don’t think we see it that way.”

“I would like to note that he has also campaigned on a number of elements of the President’s Build Back Better program, and the President’s initiatives that he is working through Congress,” Psaki said. “So obviously if people support this program, maybe they will support what Terry McAuliffe is racing for, but races are always a little more complicated than that.”

The latest RealClearPolitics poll aggregate shows the president has a favorable rating of 45%, a number forecasters and allies say should be higher. The most recent Reuters-Ipsos poll shows that 50% of respondents disapprove of the way Biden conducts his job.

“Biden’s perceptions have worsened in recent months,” said Kyle Kondik, a Virginia-based election analyst. “McAuliffe might feel better placed if Biden were more popular.”

McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman, “will want Biden’s approval rating to stabilize or improve by election day,” Kondik said.

The two Democrats have, in a way, linked their political fortunes.

Virginia was an integral part of Biden’s winning formula during the Democratic primary in 2020. Right after the president won South Carolina, he gathered with allies and voters near Virginia Beach to celebrate what looked like an alleged sweep of many Super Tuesday states.

McAuliffe, who offered Biden his endorsement earlier than some other backers, was his first opener, shouting enthusiastically that he was proud to help his state elevate the former White House vice president.

The two Democrats are so close, in fact, that McAuliffe reportedly declined his own potential presidential primary candidacy last year to welcome Biden.

Some Democrats close to McAuliffe now see their obligation as an asset in the nail biting phase.

“I don’t see a problem where Terry McAuliffe is going to run away from Joe Biden or vice versa,” said Jared Leopold, an agent in Virginia who has worked closely with McAuliffe and other Democratic governors.

McAuliffe attempted to link Youngkin to Trump by running fundraising emails highlighting their similarities.

If Biden did show up in 2024 – a scenario the White House publicly supports – he could very well be fighting Trump again. While Biden won Virginia in double digits, Democrats believe the governor’s race provides a glimpse into the vibe of a purple state electorate that could be key to a general election.

“My opponent, Glenn Youngkin, has been supported by Donald Trump four times. Four times! “Said McAuliffe.” And he’s screaming from the rooftops that he’s proud of it. He even said that Donald Trump “represents so much why [he’s] functioning.’ “

But Democrats have to go through the mid-terms first. And many in the party agree that the election will provide information about states with a similar diversity of urban, suburban, and rural voters.

“Virginia is the best approximation we have of the mid-points,” said Leopold. “New Jersey is not statewide competitive, California was a weird recall situation, and in Virginia you have both the statewide lead in all three races and the house of delegates up for grabs as well. “

“You’re going to learn more about the enthusiasm on both sides than any other race this year,” he said.

McAuliffe, of course, isn’t limited to what Democrats see as a version of Trump. He’s campaigning closely on Biden’s debut record, and the standoff on Capitol Hill is doing him a disservice, his allies say.

Some have even argued privately that no one needs Biden’s infrastructure and social spending legislation more than McAuliffe to get through Congress. This week, the Democrat slammed lawmakers over the heist and urged them to “do your job.”

“It’s frustrating.… Quit your little chatter, do your job and stop posturing, stop going out and talking to the press all day,” he told CNN in an interview. like me as governor. I brought Republicans and Democrats into a room. We figured it out. … let’s do it.

Many strategists believe that getting something through will be important in the overall result. However, whether this will actually happen is an ongoing question.

“McAuliffe might be better off if this matter was settled by the election,” Kondik said. “At least it could give Democrats a sense of finality about it. “