With less than two weeks to go before Election Day in Virginia, the desperation levels among Virginia Democrats have hit a fever pitch. Democrat gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe was considered a few months ago to be a shoo-in to win. But now it is coming down to the wire, with polls now showing both he and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin neck and neck with each other.
A Trafalgar poll from late last week shows Youngkin edging ahead with a one-point lead:
And a Monmouth poll released just yesterday shows more bad news for McAuliffe, with both of them at 46 percent:
Youngkin’s improved position comes from a widening partisan gap in voter engagement and a shift in voters’ issue priorities, particularly around schools and the pandemic.Youngkin (46%) and McAuliffe (46%) hold identical levels of support among all registered voters. This marks a shift from prior Monmouth polls where the Democrat held a 5-point lead (48% to 43% in September and 47% to 42% in August).
This is a big change, as a Monmouth poll from a month ago showed McAuliffe ahead by five points.
I don’t think it’s even arguable at this point to say that McAuliffe has been his own worst enemy. It’s not only with his declaration in the last debate about how “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach” but also with his responses to the criticism over it. McAuliffe has done a poor job of defending himself, and the “but Trump!” tactic he routinely uses to deflect criticism also comes across as an inadequate and desperate response.
But we all know what happens when a Democrat finds themselves in trouble, especially in a close election race. Inevitably there will be some in the liberal media who will attempt a ride to their rescue. That is exactly what happened Wednesday when a reporter from DC-area news outlet WUSA9 engaged in the notorious “some would say” media tactic and proceeded to try handing Democrats a gift by proclaiming “critics might question whether” recent criticisms Youngkin made about billionaire liberal backer George Soros were “anti-Semitic.”
Here’s the tweet from reporter Bruce Leshan, which includes a video clip of Youngkin at a packed rally earlier this week talking about how “George Soros-backed allies” were being “inserted into our school system, disguised as a school board”:
Leshan gave Democrats another in-kind campaign contribution by casually mentioning Soros’ background in his write-up on the Youngkin rally:
In the same speech, Youngkin suggested George Soros, a billionaire philanthropist born to a non-observant Jewish family in Hungary, was “inserting political operatives into our school system, disguised as a school board.””The present chaos in our schools lays squarely at the feet… of George Soros-backed allies,” Youngkin said. “These allies that are in the left, liberal, progressive movement.”
McAuliffe’s allies, like Democrat House Rep. Elaine Luria, pounced and seized:
Except no. Criticizing George Soros for being a Democrat-mega donor responsible for funding left-wing takeovers at various levels of government is not “anti-Semitism.” NRO senior writer David Harsanyi, who is Jewish, cut off the “this is anti-Semitism!” argument at the knees:
Not only is the criticism inaccurate, but it’s also deeply offensive to Jewish people, especially to those who have been victims of actual anti-Semitism and/or who have lost family members as a result of anti-Semitic attacks.
In any event, with the race coming down the wire, we shouldn’t be surprised that Democrats and some of their apologists in the press are throwing all kinds of mud at the wall in hopes that it sticks to Youngkin. But while not surprising, them throwing the anti-Semitism card is nevertheless disappointing, because this is a tiresome and disgraceful tactic that needed to be put out to pasture long ago.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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