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For four years, nothing rallied Democrats like the push to get Donald Trump out of office. Now, they’re not sure what to do without him.
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Democrats in Virginia are scrambling to stave off disaster in the state’s governor’s race — the most competitive major election since Trump left the White House.
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The surprisingly tight contest has exposed the depth of the party’s dependence on Trump as a message and motivator.
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The politics surrounding Trump, who left office more than nine months ago, remain complicated. McAuliffe’s team believes he remains very unpopular among the Democratic base, independents and even some moderate Republicans in Virginia.
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A loss in the Virginia governor’s race, long considered a bellwether for midterm elections, would trigger all-out panic among Democrats far beyond Virginia.
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Public polling has been shifting in Republican newcomer Glenn Youngkin’s direction in recent weeks, while Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor and close ally of President Joe Biden, has struggled to energize his base as Biden’s approval ratings sink.
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As such, he should be a good motivator for McAuliffe’s coalition. But Trump’s absence from the spotlight, combined with voter fatigue and the lingering pandemic, seems to have diluted anti-Trump passions — at least for now.
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But McAuliffe’s attacks against his opponent may have undermined the Democrat’s relatively weak favorable ratings. He has earned the support of less than 50% of the electorate in all but a handful of public polls this year.
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Youngkin seized on conservatives’ frustrations with schools over pandemic policies and race and diversity education.
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A Republican presidential candidate hasn’t carried the state since 2004. Census data shows the state’s Democratic-leaning northern part of the state growing, while GOP strongholds lose population.
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The trends, combined with a Democratic shift among suburban Republicans during the Trump era, suggest that Democrats would win easily on Tuesday if only they turn out their supporters.