Poll: Shape- Shifter Youngkin Trailing In Virginia

 

The latest A- rated (by fivethirtyeight.com) Fox "News" poll on the gubernatorial race in Virginia is out with some good news for Democrat Terry McAuliffe:

Beyond the top- line numbers, the poll shows McAuliffe leading the Trump- endorsed Republican weasel Glenn Youngkin among the key groups necessary for him to win: 

Youngkin  has traditional Republican support among White evangelicals, rural voters, White men, and Whites without a college degree (heavy on the "White" there).

On the popularity question ("who would you rather have a beer with?"), McAuliffe beats everyone:

Youngkin's campaign has struggled to keep his Trump ties quiet in the parts of Virginia that have trended blue over the past decade, while at the same time trying to energize Trump's White racist base by trotting out the "Critical Race Theory" dog whistle (CRT is not taught in Virginia K-12 or in any other state, BTW). 

Tying Trump around Youngkin's neck has been a Democratic strategy that needs to be amplified, given Trump's toxicity in Virginia.  The recent pro- insurrectionist rally in support of Youngkin and the rest of his far- right ticket (which Youngkin stayed away from) turned out to be a major embarrassment, with Youngkin belatedly disavowing the rally's pledge of allegiance to a flag that the insurrectionists had at the Capitol on January 6.  That could be the next ad for McAuliffe ("Glenn Youngkin wants your vote, Trumpers, he just doesn't want to be seen with you."), especially since there appears to be a lack of enthusiasm among Republican voters for the shape- shifting weasel. This line in the Fox poll analysis stood out:

McAuliffe receives stronger support among voters who approve of Democrats (91 percent) than Youngkin receives from those who approve of Republicans (80 percent).

It's the Democrats' race to lose.  Hit Youngkin hard, and get out the damn vote!

One More For The Road. . .Now Hit It

Virginia holds its Democratic primary elections for Governor next Tuesday, and there's been an interesting movement in the poll numbers away from Terry McAuliffe to Creigh Deeds, who the WaPo endorsed. The back-slapping loudmouth McAuliffe, who was once Democratic National Committee chairman and chairman of Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign, has almost unlimited funds and has used them lavishly to purchase ads all over Virginia. But apparently, Virginia Democrats are tired of Virginia-newcomer McAuliffe's willingness to throw his money at the election. Also, many who supported President Obama are still angry that McAuliffe was one of the most vocal holdouts trying to keep Sen. Clinton's campaign alive and denying Obama a couple of months to focus on the general elections, referring to Clinton as "the next President" after Obama had clinched the nomination. He also had a rather infamous appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe", appearing in a tropical shirt with a bottle of rum and sipping from it while on camera. That goes down well with voters.

So why does he expect anyone to take him seriously? Oh yeah . . . his money.

(photo: At least he's drinking good Puerto Rican rum)

What The?

Via Talking Points Memo, we see where Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe praises Fux News for being the first to call the Pennsylvania primary for Sen. Clinton. That's not such a big deal, but he goes on to mouth the Rethuglican network's slogan: "fair and balanced." McAuliffe's always been a rather slippery gladhander, but this was an unsolicited pander to the Rethug network. Maybe he's looking for work after the end of the campaign.

(photo: McAuliffe, left, with his friends, Tony "Blows" Snow, and Tom "Bug Man" Delay)