Obama hopes to boost Spanberger’s campaign with endorsement
Former President Barack Obama has endorsed former representative Abigail Spanberger’s campaign for governor of Virginia, aiming to revive her faltering bid against Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Obama emphasized the importance of voter participation and is featured in two new digital ads supporting Spanberger, who has faced declining poll numbers in recent weeks. The campaign has been complicated by controversy surrounding Democrat Jay Jones, Virginia’s attorney general candidate, whose violent and offensive past text messages have drawn heavy criticism. Spanberger, who endorsed Jones, condemned the texts but refused to call for him to suspend his campaign, leading to intensified attacks from Earle-Sears. The scandal has become a focal point of the race, including the candidates’ recent debate, and has caused Spanberger’s lead in the polls to narrow significantly. Meanwhile, Earle-Sears has urged Spanberger to address issues within a Young Republicans group criticized for racist and offensive comments.The race remains tight as both sides continue to battle over these controversies.
Obama hopes to boost Spanberger with endorsement as campaign bleeds over Jay Jones texts
Former President Barack Obama on Thursday endorsed former Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s campaign to become Virginia’s next governor, which has lost momentum in recent weeks.
Obama warned residents that “every vote counts” and revealed he is starring in two new digital ads for Spanberger’s campaign, as polling indicates her bid against Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is hemorrhaging just weeks before the election.
“As governor, Abigail will stand up for Virginia families,” Obama tells viewers in one of the ads, which were first reported on by NBC News. “But it won’t happen without you.”
VANCE DISMISSES ‘PEARL CLUTCHING’ RESPONSE TO YOUNG REPUBLICANS MESSAGES IN WAKE OF JAY JONES TEXT
The former president’s move to get involved in the race comes as Spanberger has been on the front end of intense criticism from Republicans for refusing to pull her endorsement from Democrat Jay Jones’s Virginia campaign for attorney general. Jones has remained in the race despite uproar over violent text messages he sent several years ago in which he suggested then-state Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert should get “two bullets to the head,” talked about urinating on the graves of political opponents, and said that he hoped Gilbert’s wife would one day hold one of her children as they died.
While she issued a stern condemnation of the texts and noted Jones’s apology, Spanberger has declined to call on the attorney general candidate to suspend his campaign, triggering intense attacks from Earle-Sears.
On Wednesday evening, Earle-Sears once again made the controversy the central focus of the campaign when she highlighted the Virginia Democratic Party’s demand that she call on members of a Young Republicans group chat to step down from positions of leadership after they were criticized for privately joking about gas chambers, slavery, and rape.
“Easy, they absolutely must step down,” Earle-Sears replied.
“Now it’s your turn, Abigail,” she added.
The fiasco became a central focus of the sole debate between the two Virginia candidates last week. Spanberger repeatedly refused to engage when Earle-Sears pressed her on Jones’s scandal and dodged questions about whether he should remain on the ticket
Spanberger’s numbers have tanked following the controversy. In late May, pollsters had her leading 43% to 26%. A new Trafalgar Group poll released over the weekend showed Earle-Sears trailed Spanberger by just 2.6%.
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