Barack Obama to campaign for Terry McAuliffe for governor in Virginia

Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Former President Barack Obama will stump for Terry McAuliffe's re-election as Virginia's governor later this month, the campaign said Tuesday.

McAuliffe also tweeted that Obama will campaign with him in Richmond, Va., on Oct. 23, with in-person early voting closing a week later, ahead of the Nov. 2 general election.

The tweet included an MSNBC Morning Joe video announcing that Obama's visit will follow first lady Jill Biden's visit to Henrico, near Richmond, and Georgia Democrat and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams' visit to Norfolk, Va., to mobilize voters.

President Joe Biden hit the campaign trail for the first time since his inauguration to support McAuliffe's bid for his former post in July.

McAuliffe, a Democrat who served as Virginia's governor from 2014-2018, is competing against Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin, a first-time candidate and former private equity executive, to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam since Virginia's Constitution prohibits officeholders from holding consecutive terms.

McAuliffe's platform includes plans to create well-paying jobs, make healthcare more affordable and a "world-class education," for children in the state, according to his website.

"If elected, Youngkin will prioritize making abortion illegal and spreading Donald Trump's dangerous election integrity conspiracy theories, as he has done throughout this campaign," he added in a statement on his website.

A Christopher Newport University poll last week showed a close race, with McAuliffe leading Youngkin 49% to 45%, which is within the survey's 4.2% margin of error.

The close race may raise the importance of turnout, The Hill reported.

Youngkin's campaign spokesperson Macaulay Porter responded to McAuliffe's campaign announcement in a statement to The Hill.

"Terry McAuliffe is scared because Virginians are roundly rejecting 40-year politician Terry McAuliffe's plans to defund the police, strip parents of their rights to have a say in their children's education, and to fire people who don't follow his authoritarian vaccine mandates, so his response is to bring in more politicians to help draw a crowd larger than 12 people," Porter said in the statement. "Glenn Youngkin is an outsider focused on delivering for the people of Virginia and making the state the best place to live, work, and raise a family."