
Trump, Biden, not on the ballot, but center stage in Virginia gubernatorial showdown
Fox News
President Biden and former President Trump aren’t on the ballot this November in Virginia, but they’re front and center on the campaign trail in one of just two states to hold gubernatorial elections in the year after a presidential election.
But Biden’s standing in the state has deteriorated, according to the Fox News poll and other surveys. The president’s flagging approval ratings, along with the inability of the White House and moderate and progressive congressional Democrats to agree on the party’s massive social spending and climate change agenda, may also be key factors in a close gubernatorial race with national implications.
Virginia has shifted blue over the past decade, and it’s been a dozen years since Republicans won a statewide election in the commonwealth. But it remains competitive, and the McAuliffe-Youngkin showdown is seen as a key barometer ahead of next year's midterm elections, when control of Congress will be up for grabs