Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s defeat could mean a “political earthquake” for Democrats heading into 2022 –-and the candidate is “running scared,” Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume said Tuesday.
President Biden joined McAuliffe on the campaign trail earlier Tuesday as polls show the Virginia gubernatorial election neck-and-neck between the former governor and Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA – OCTOBER 25: Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe answers questions from reporters after speaking during a campaign event where he received the endorsement of the Virginia Beach African American Political Action Council at The Happy Cafe on October 25, 2021 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Virginia gubernatorial election, pitting McAuliffe against Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, is November 2. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Hume said Biden’s visit represents a last-ditch effort to pull McAuliffe over the edge as panic sets in among Democrats in the deep blue state.
“This is a candidate running scared, very scared and with good reason,” Hume told “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Hume pointed to McAuliffe’s repeated false statements about the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, which earned him four Pinocchios from The Washington Post.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – OCTOBER 23: Former U.S. President Barack Obama campaigns with Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe at Virginia Commonwealth University October 23, 2021 in Richmond, Virginia. The Virginia gubernatorial election, pitting McAuliffe against Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, is November 2. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“He has made one blunder after another, not the least of which was his assertion just a few weeks ago that he didn’t want parents telling school boards what to teach kids. This is a widely shared view in the Democratic Party but not widely shared across the body politic as a whole,” Hume said.
VIRGINIA PARENTS SLAM DEMOCRAT MCAULIFFE’S REMARK ON WHAT KIDS LEARN IN SCHOOL: HE IS ‘JUST WRONG’
“Independents don’t like it and Republicans obviously don’t like it either. It was as big a political wonder as I think I’ve seen in a long time, so he is in trouble.”
“He may pull this out – Virginia is a very blue state,” Hume added, “but he is worried, he is scared, and the presence of the president there is only a recent manifestation of that.”
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Former President Barack Obama joined McAuliffe in Richmond a day earlier, where he characterized Youngkin’s concerns about critical race theory as “phony trumped-up culture wars” and “fake outrage”.
Hume said the Democrats are dispatching the big guns to campaign for McAuliffe because “If he loses, it will be seen as a political earthquake, and if the Democrats weren’t already worried about what is going to happen to them in 2022, they will be terrified if that comes about.”