First lady Jill Biden will stump for Terry McAuliffe (D) in Richmond on Friday, as the former Virginia governor campaigns for a second term.
The first lady’s appearance on the campaign trail, announced by the White House on Monday, comes as polls show that McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin are neck-in-neck less than a month before Election Day.
A poll released last week by Emerson College and Nexstar Media Group found that the race is in dead heat among likely Virginia voters: McAuliffe secured 49 percent support, while Youngkin has 48 percent.
One percent of voters said they are planning to vote for someone else, and 2 percent said they are still undecided.
Additionally, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved the race from “lean Democratic” to “toss-up” last month.
In-person early voting kicked off in the state last month. The race marks the first gubernatorial election where in-person early voting and no-excuse mail voting are available to the electorate in Virginia, according to Politico.
Onlookers from inside and outside the beltway are closely watching the off-year gubernatorial race as it marks one of the first times voters will head to the polls in the Biden administration.
Experts say it could serve as a harbinger for next year’s midterm elections.
A number of Democratic big-wigs are now making appearances in the commonwealth to stump for McAuliffe, including former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who is slated to hit the campaign trail on Sunday.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was alongside McAuliffe campaigning in Virginia last month, and President Biden stumped for the former governor in July.