Election day is Tuesday, November 7.
In the final push before Tuesday’s Virginia election on abortion restrictions, Democrats are getting a boost from President Joe Biden.
“Folks, in Virginia the stakes have never been higher,” Biden said in a new fundraising email sent through the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Republican fringes have made it clear that they are trying to take our country back on issues like elections.”
The email, first obtained by ABC News, marks the latest example of active participation by Democrats nationally in next week’s high-stakes Virginia election.
The show of support from the party comes as Virginia is the only Southern state that has not tightened abortion restrictions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
If Republicans win full control of the Legislature, Democrats say Youngkin will try again to ban the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions, after a previous push was blocked by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“President Biden’s involvement in the final push for crucial legislative elections next week underscores the importance of these races to the entire country,” DLCC President Heather Williams told ABC News. “[His] the DLCC fundraiser shows that Democrats are united as we head into the home stretch and get out the vote.”
In response to Biden’s involvement, Dave Rexrod, a political adviser to Youngkin and chairman of his PAC, Spirit of Virginia, said Virginia Democrats are “making the election Joe Biden versus Youngkin.”
“They need to check the polls of their leading surrogate,” Rexrod said. “We’ll take that game any day of the week.”
The endorsement from Biden follows another national Democratic figure joining the race.
Former President Barack Obama recorded robocalls through the Democratic National Redistricting Committee urging voters in Virginia to head to the polls.
Back in September, Biden directed the Democratic National Committee to pour $1.2 million into opposing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s fundraising efforts.
“Democrats are playing defense in Virginia,” said Chapman Rackaway, professor and chair of political science at Radford University. “They very much want to prevent Governor Youngkin from getting a Republican majority in both chambers, so they see the stakes as very high.” They’ve gone all-in on legislative races in Virginia.”
Youngkin has also raised historic amounts of money, his Spirit of Virginia political action committee reporting more than $22 million since March in support of Republican candidates.
“Governor Yangqin doesn’t seem to need much help from the national party,” Rackaway said. “If he’s the main outside source of money for state candidates and he gets Republican control of both houses, the new majority will have him and only him to thank for their power and help carry out his agenda.”
Democrats collectively report a fundraising advantage, with all legislative candidates raising $46 million in four weeks in October, according to financial disclosures.
Democrats want to regain control of the House of Delegates and maintain their narrow majority in the state Senate.
Meanwhile, Republicans hope to hold on to their current slim majority in the House of Representatives and flip the Senate as they seek to gain full control of the General Assembly.