'Do your job': McAuliffe watches closely as messy Capitol Hill negotiations threaten Virginia race

There is possibly no Democrat outside of Washington, DC, who is more closely watching the chaotic negotiations playing out on Capitol Hill than Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe.

The messy machinations of Congress rarely play a role in off-year races, but Virginia is the notable exception. Not only are the vote rich Northern Virginia suburbs full of federal workers who are more attuned to the inner workings of Congress, but every four years, this race often becomes a referendum on the party in power -- so Democrats struggling to pass anything through a Congress they control is front-of-mind for McAuliffe.

Democrats on Capitol Hill are currently embroiled in trying negotiations over how to pass both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger, more politically difficult multi-trillion-dollar social spending plan. Moderates like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin have balked at the price tag of the social spending plan, arguing the proposed $3.5 trillion should come down to around $1.5 trillion. Progressives, meanwhile, are arguing that the current price tag is already a concession and are threatening to sink the infrastructure plan over the impasse.