President Obama will campaign with Democrat Terry McAuliffe Sunday in Northern Virginia, just two days before voters head to the polls to select the state’s 72nd governor.
Mr. McAuliffe’s campaign announced the event late Monday and said additional information would follow.
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The businessman and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee is currently touring the state with former President Bill Clinton. Both men are exhorting the crowds not to ease up on the intensity they showed during the 2012 election and warning that the off-year electorate could favor Mr. McAuliffe’s opponent, Republican Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II.
Mr. Obama carried Virginia in both of his successful presidential campaigns and became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the Old Dominion in more than 40 years in 2008.
His nascent 2008 campaign also got a boost in February 2007 from current U.S. Sen. and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who was the first governor outside of Mr. Obama’s home state of Illinois to endorse his bid.
Mr. McAuliffe has maintained a solid lead over Mr. Cuccinelli, recent public polls showed.
Mr. Cuccinelli said in a statement that the move “makes official what we have already known to be true: McAuliffe’s unwavering support for the President’s signature legislative achievement, Obamacare.”
The Oct. 1 rollout of much of Mr. Obama’s health care overhaul has been a public relations nightmare for the White House, with countless reports of people being unable to sign up for a health insurance plan through HealthCare.gov. The administration estimates the problems with the website will be fixed by the end of November.
“As governor, I will continue to do everything in my power to stop the law from exacerbating the uncertainty already felt by our job creators and leading to fewer options and more expensive health care for middle-class Virginia families,” Mr. Cuccinelli said. “Make no mistake, this is a fundamental and critical difference in the race for governor.”
Mr. McAuliffe’s campaign also announced Tuesday that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will attend a “Get Out The Vote Canvass Kick-Off” Monday morning in Annandale.
