{"id":942182,"date":"2021-10-30T15:28:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T19:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=942182"},"modified":"2021-10-30T15:28:47","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T19:28:47","slug":"gops-youngkin-surges-as-democrat-mcauliffe-stumbles-into-home-stretch-before-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gops-youngkin-surges-as-democrat-mcauliffe-stumbles-into-home-stretch-before-election-day\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP\u2019s Youngkin Surges as Democrat McAuliffe Stumbles into Home Stretch Before Election Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgops-youngkin-surges-as-democrat-mcauliffe-stumbles-into-home-stretch-before-election-day%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=942182&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Virginia Republican Glenn Youngkin has overtaken former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in multiple polls in the home stretch of the state\u2019s gubernatorial race, indicating a late shift in momentum with now just four days until the election.<\/p>\n<p>A Fox News poll that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/28\/poll-republican-glenn-youngkin-ahead-of-democrat-terry-mcauliffe-by-8-points-in-virginia-governors-race\/\">showed<\/a> Youngkin trailing McAuliffe by five points among likely voters two weeks ago now shows Youngkin has pulled ahead of McAuliffe by eight points, a lead that exceeds the poll\u2019s margin of error.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Echelon Insights <a href=\"https:\/\/echeloninsights.com\/in-the-news\/vagov\/\">found<\/a> Youngkin leading McAuliffe by three points in a poll released Friday, and, similarly, a co\/efficient poll \u2014 an internal poll commissioned by the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Winsome Sears \u2014 revealed Thursday that Youngkin was ahead of McAuliffe by four points.<\/p>\n<p>Polling averages charted by both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/epolls\/2021\/governor\/va\/virginia_governor_youngkin_vs_mcauliffe-7373.html\">RealClearPolitics<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.fivethirtyeight.com\/polls\/governor\/virginia\/\">FiveThirtyEight<\/a>&nbsp;reveal that Youngkin, for the first time, has a narrow edge over McAuliffe as of Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Education policy has been a recurring theme in surveys after McAuliffe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/09\/29\/terry-mcauliffe-i-dont-think-parents-should-be-telling-schools-what-they-should-teach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> in a debate at the end of September, \u201cI don\u2019t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"6.6287425149701\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Terry McAuliffe: &#8220;I don&#8217;t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7S15pTv1gY\">pic.twitter.com\/7S15pTv1gY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/greg_price11\/status\/1442997263601750018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 28, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The comment served as a turning point in the race, where McAuliffe\u2019s short statement tapped into the heated national issue of parents versus school boards. As the moment became viral, McAuliffe was hit with an onslaught of criticism while Youngkin took the opportunity to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/04\/republican-youngkin-launches-parents-matter-to-counter-democrat-mcauliffes-anti-parents-education-message\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">amplify<\/a> his pro-parent position with \u201cParents Matter\u201d branding and campaign ads.<\/p>\n<p>McAuliffe, who is relying largely on voter turnout in the deeply blue Northern Virginia region, also made the remark about parents while Northern Virginia\u2019s populous Loudoun County has continued to make headlines nationwide as being \u201cground zero\u201d in the school board debates over transgender policies, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and masking students.<\/p>\n<p>The turmoil in Loudoun County took a grim turn in October when it was revealed that the daughter of Scott Smith, an angry father who had been arrested after an outburst at a school board meeting, had in fact been&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2021\/10\/26\/teen-found-guilty-of-forcible-sodomy-in-loudoun-county-school-girls-bathroom-attack\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">raped<\/a>&nbsp;in a school bathroom by a teenage boy wearing a skirt. The school board meeting at which Smith was arrested had been&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gabriellaborter\/status\/1407436117373247489?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">discussing<\/a>&nbsp;\u201ctransgender affirming\u201d policies, which the board later&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2021\/08\/12\/loudoun-county-school-board-approves-trans-students-in-opposite-sexs-sports-teams-locker-rooms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">approved<\/a>&nbsp;7\u20132. Parents were further enraged with the school board after the same teenage boy was detained at another Loudoun County school for allegedly groping a student, and superintendent&nbsp;Scott Ziegler eventually was forced to&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2021\/10\/16\/loudoun-county-school-superintendent-admits-failed-effort-to-provide-a-safe-environment-left-wing-board-member-resigns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">admit<\/a>&nbsp;administrators had \u201cfailed to provide\u201d a safe environment for students.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/20\/youngkin-calls-for-investigation-into-loudoun-schools-alleged-cover-up-closed-door-conversation-and-silencing-parents-is-over\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">weighed in<\/a>&nbsp;soon after at a Fairfax County rally, demanding an investigation and accountability to a crowd of hundreds, many holding \u201cParents for Youngkin\u201d signs.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_18394594\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"36\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/IMG_8172.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18394594\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/IMG_8172.jpg\" alt=\"Glenn Youngkin event\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Glenn Youngkin speaks to supporters at a rally on October 19, 2021, in Fairfax County, Virginia. (Breitbart News)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A&nbsp;<em>Washington<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Post<\/em>\/Schar School poll, published Friday, found Youngkin one point behind McAuliffe, 48 percent to 49 percent, but while the top line showed the gap between the candidates had closed only slightly in Youngkin\u2019s favor, the change in response to education&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/29\/washington-post-poll-education-no-1-issue-in-virginia-governors-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was<\/a>&nbsp;glaring.<\/p>\n<p>The poll identified in September that the top issue for voters was the economy at 27 percent, followed by coronavirus at 16 percent, and education and \u201csomething else\u201d tied at 15 percent each. In October\u2019s poll, however, education shot to the top, with 24 percent deeming it the number one issue, followed by the economy, then coronavirus.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">The&nbsp;<em>Post<\/em>&nbsp;noted that among those who believe education is a top issue, \u201cYoungkin has gained significant ground. \u2026 In September, education voters favored McAuliffe by 33 points, but now they tilt toward Youngkin by nine points.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">McAuliffe appeared to take note of the shifting ground and&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/19\/democrat-terry-mcauliffe-scrambles-to-course-correct-after-parents-comment-my-words-taken-out-of-context\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">released<\/a>&nbsp;a campaign ad last week attempting to correct the narrative about his stance on parents. \u201cWe know good schools depend on involved parents. That\u2019s why I want you to hear this from me. Glenn Youngkin\u2019s taking my words out of context. I\u2019ve always valued the concerns of parents,\u201d McAuliffe says in the ad.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.9855769230769\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThat\u2019s why I want you to hear this from me, Glenn Youngkin is taking my words out of context,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TerryMcAuliffe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TerryMcAuliffe<\/a> says in a new ad <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2ke4pyiD8x\">pic.twitter.com\/2ke4pyiD8x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jaaavis\/status\/1450199344863399939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 18, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Many polls&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/26\/down-to-the-wire-virginia-governors-race-neck-and-neck-in-home-stretch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">began<\/a>&nbsp;to reflect the issue of education in October, but as early as August, the tides subtly began turning for Youngkin amid President Joe Biden leading a disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and then, on September 9, announcing a draconian federal vaccine mandate. The continuous flow of illegal migrants at the southern border under Biden\u2019s administration also moved to the forefront when thousands of Haitian migrants began cramming into squalid makeshift encampments in Del Rio, Texas, in September. Now into October, Democrats\u2019 failure to find enough common ground to pass any infrastructure plan has only further exacerbated Biden\u2019s unpopularity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">While the president\u2019s approval rating has been plummeting, McAuliffe himself&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/06\/virginia-democrat-terry-mcauliffe-admits-unpopular-joe-biden-is-causing-headwinds-for-his-gubernatorial-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">admitted<\/a>&nbsp;in early October his campaign was facing \u201ca lot of headwinds from Washington.\u201d Among registered voters, the&nbsp;<em>Post\u2019s<\/em>&nbsp;poll showed a decline in Biden\u2019s approval since September from 46 percent to 43 percent while his disapproval rose from 51 percent to 53 percent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">McAuliffe does however have an advantage seeing that Virginia is a blue-leaning state. Republicans have not won a statewide race in the Old Dominion since 2009, while Democrat presidential candidates have taken the state for the past four elections. Now, with just days left in this year\u2019s race, McAuliffe has mounting pressure to continue the blue streak as his lead disappears in polls and his campaign stumbles to the Tuesday finish line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">On Friday, the embattled Never-Trump Lincoln Project, which has endorsed McAuliffe, organized a stunt where individuals dressed as white supremacists from the 2017 Charlottesville protest posed as Youngkin supporters, seemingly in an attempt to tie Youngkin to white supremacy. The stunt backfired in grand fashion, however, as memes broke out online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/29\/terry-mcauliffe-mocked-over-viral-picture-of-youngkin-supporters-with-tiki-torches\/\">mocking<\/a> McAuliffe for the posers while prominent Democrat Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/29\/rep-eric-swalwell-falls-failed-virginia-tiki-torch-hoax\/\">Eric Swalwell<\/a> (CA) fell for the trick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Lis Smith, a former Pete Buttigieg senior advisor, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Lis_Smith\/status\/1454200604058849282?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> on social media after the orchestration, \u201cWhat a massive, massive screw up. The last thing that the McAuliffe campaign needed this weekend. A total disservice to the hundreds of hard-working staffers on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Meanwhile, McAuliffe\u2019s campaign spokesperson Renzo Olivari was consumed Friday night with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/29\/exclusive-mcauliffe-spokesman-ashamed-of-racist-tweets-apologizes-days-before-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">apologizing<\/a> for his own tweets, unearthed from 2012, that used the N-word and contained other race-based jokes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Early voting in the race has been ongoing since September 17 and concludes Saturday. Election Day takes place on November 2.<\/p>\n<p><em>Write to Ashley Oliver at <a href=\"mailto:aoliver@breitbart.com\">aoliver@breitbart.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virginia Republican Glenn Youngkin has overtaken former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in multiple polls in the home stretch of the state\u2019s gubernatorial race, indicating a late shift in momentum with &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-942182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}