Obama is promoting Terry McAuliffe
Race in Virginia is considered a referendum on Biden
Gabriel ThomasSeptember 13, 2026
Former US President Barack Obama called on the citizens of Virginia at a rally on Saturday to re-elect Terry McAuliffe as governor, stressing the importance of the race as an indicator of the country's political direction and a reflection of its values.
Obama and McAuliffe, who was the state governor from 2014 to 2018, spoke to a cheering crowd at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, just 10 days before the closely monitored, close-knit elections on November 2.
The off-year race serves as a barometer for the 2022 mid-term elections, which will determine which party controls Congress, and a referendum on the presidency of Democrat Joe Biden.
Obama told the crowd that the Virginia elections marked a national "turning point" where Americans could either become even more entangled in the divisive policies that marked the Republican Donald Trump's presidency and an attack on Trump by Trump's supporters US Capitol culminated on January 6, or "pull together" to "solve big problems".
"I believe that here in Virginia you will show the rest of the country and the world that we are not going to give in to our worst instincts," Obama said. "We're not going to go back to the mess that caused so much damage. We're going to move forward with people like Terry leading the way.
McAuliffe told the crowd the election was too important to sit out because there were several important issues on the ballot.
"This election is about the next chapter of Virginia and our country ... It's about getting us out of this pandemic, keeping our economy strong, protecting electoral rights, protecting abortion rights and so much more," he said .
Opinion polls show that McAuliffe, 64, and Republican Glenn Youngkin, 54, are almost on par. A poll conducted by Monmouth University this week showed that Youngkin has caught up McAuliffe's 5-point lead since September by gaining ground with independent and female voters.
Youngkin's strength in the polls during the first few weeks of early voting worried Democrats, who were expecting a comfortable lead in a state that has been rather blue in recent years. The Democrats re-elected the Virginia legislature in 2019, and Trump lost the state by 10 percentage points in November 2020, double what it did when he lost it in 2016.
Melody Pearce, 50, a clinical nurse who attended a rally for McAuliffe on Saturday, said the polls made her nervous.
"After President Biden was elected, I thought we could breathe a sigh of relief for a minute," she said. "I am afraid that people will not vote and lose enthusiasm".
National Democratic Committee chairman Jaime Harrison told reporters at the event on Saturday that he was confident the Virginians would vote and give McAuliffe a victory.
"At the end of the day, it's about the turnout," he said. "If we get the Democrats to vote, we'll win.
The incumbent governor, Ralph Northam, a Democrat, cannot run for re-election because the state prohibits governors from consecutive terms. McAuliffe can run because he divorced office in 2018.
Both gubernatorial candidates have tackled hotly contested cultural issues to mobilize voters, including abortion rights and the way schools treat race and racism issues with students.
McAuliffe has tried to portray Youngkin as a right-wing extremist and to link him to Trump, who supported the Republican candidate.
In turn, Youngkin has hinted that McAuliffe is trying to advance a left-wing extremist agenda. Former private equity manager Youngkin has focused in part on education - particularly the right of parents to have a say in their children's education - which has resonated with women in the suburbs, an important part of the population.
Youngkin walked a fine line between greeting Trump's support and distancing himself from the former president's false claim that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen.
Obama on Saturday condemned Youngkin for walking that fine line, saying it casts a bad light on his character.
"Either he actually believes in the same conspiracy theories that led to a mob, or he doesn't believe in them, but he is willing to say or do anything to get elected. And that may be worse," Obama said .
Last week, Youngkin distanced himself from a support rally led by longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon and Trump himself, who spoke over the phone. At the event, attendees vowed loyalty to a flag that, according to the organizers, was seen on January 6 when Trump supporters led an attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Youngkin issued a statement saying it was "strange and wrong" to pledge allegiance to a flag with January 6 connections.
