Former President Barack Obama endorsed Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger on Thursday, a move Republicans have dismissed as an attempt to distract voters in the waning days of a contentious campaign cycle.
“Virginia’s elections are some of the most important in the country this year, and I am proud to endorse Abigail Spanberger for governor,” Obama said in the advertisement.
“I’m honored to have the endorsement of President Barack Obama,” Spanberger posted on X Thursday. “He knows how high the stakes are on November 4th — and he knows that every vote counts.”
“Abigail Spanberger is trying to distract from her full endorsement of Jay Jones and his violent rhetoric of wanting to murder his political opponents,” Republican Governors Association Rapid Response Director Kollin Crompton said in a statement. “Spanberger doesn’t have the courage to stand up to her party, and Virginians see right through it.”
Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ team account posted a GIF of NBA star LeBron James pretending to act scared in response to the Obama endorsement.
“Don’t worry … maybe one day a President will endorse you too,” Spanberger’s campaign account replied.
“Abigail Spanberger is scared and it shows. After losing support across Virginia, she’s leaning on liberal elites to try and save her collapsing campaign. This is a desperate play from a candidate who’s run out of support, out of ideas, and out of time. Voters see through it, and that’s why Winsome Earle-Sears is surging,” Earle-Sears’ campaign press secretary Peyton Vogel told The Daily Wire in a statement Thursday afternoon.
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The statewide races in Virginia reached a fever pitch after Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, was revealed to have texted a Republican House of Delegates colleague fantasizing about the assassination of the former House of Delegates GOP Speaker and his children in 2022.
Jones has since apologized for the remarks while facing numerous calls to exit the race. In a recent debate, Spanberger said that they are running “individual races” when asked directly if she still backs Jones, but The Daily Wire reported that bumper stickers and a shirt with “Spanberger-Hashmi-Jones” are still being sold in her campaign store.
Jones and Attorney General Jason Miyares are slated to debate on Thursday night, as that race is also considered extremely close. Virginia’s top statewide offices flipped red in 2021 with the election of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who cannot run for a second consecutive term, Earle-Sears, and Miyares.
Election Day is November 4, but early voting is already underway until November 1. There are only a small number of high-profile races this year, including the governor’s race in New Jersey and the New York City mayoral race, which has its debate tonight.
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