Harris stumps for McAuliffe in Virginia

DUMFRIES, Va. — Vice President Harris campaigned with Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe on Thursday, urging voters to head to the polls ahead of Election Day.

Harris illustrated what she said were the stakes of the gubernatorial election by appearing to draw parallels to former President Trump’s election in 2016.

“A whole lot can be either created or destroyed in four years,” Harris told the crowd. “Four years can be a very long time for a lot of bad things to happen. Right? We just experienced that.”

Harris’s comments come 12 days before the commonwealth’s gubernatorial election, which is widely being viewed as a bellwether for the 2022 midterm elections.

“The election for governor of Virginia, yes it is about the state of Virginia. It is also about our nation,” she said. 

Hecklers appeared to interrupt Harris toward the beginning of her speech before they were droned out with chants of “Terry.”

“We will not be distracted. We will not be dissuaded. We will not be deterred. This election is too important,” Harris said, speaking over the hecklers.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial nominee Hala Ayala, and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring were also in attendance.

The campaign stop comes as Virginia Democrats scramble to galvanize their base as polls show a tightening race between McAuliffe and GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin.

A Monmouth University survey released Wednesday found Youngkin and McAuliffe tied at 46 percent.

On top of that, the poll found 49 percent of Republican voters saying they are more enthusiastic than usual to vote in the election compared to 26 percent of Democrats.

But Democrats are hoping stops from major party figures like Harris, former President Obama, and President Biden will help rev up the base. 

Obama will campaign with McAuliffe in Richmond on Saturday. McAuliffe’s campaign announced on Thursday that Biden would join him in Northern Virginia for a campaign stop on Tuesday.