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It was the most blatant sign yet of how culture war issues are defining Republican political strategy in the competitive gubernatorial race as well as among Republicans nationwide. “Our children should not be the victims of the left-liberal progressives’ cultural war.” “The classroom is not the place for a political agenda,” Youngkin said. Rallying with parents and educators who have long battled with the school board, Youngkin called the county and pledged to issue an executive order banning the teaching of critical race theory on his first day in office, protect advanced math classes, and appoint a new secretary of education. This week, the exurban Washington, D.C., schools center was the backdrop for Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin as he announced the first phase of his education plan. "The next two weeks will see a lot more mobilization, continual appeals for turnout and nonstop commercial ads from the two candidates," said Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech.The Loudoun County Public Schools building recently was the site of a heated board meeting protest over transgender policy and critical race theory, which resulted in an arrest. And the disparity in enthusiasm between supporters of Youngkin and McAuliffe has grown to a 23 percentage point gap in the poll, at 49% to 26%. The Monmouth University poll found the candidate's neck and neck with support among likely voters identical at 46%. With Virginia's Election Day just under two weeks away, both candidates are likely to ratchet up their campaign advertising to motivate their partisan bases.
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Youngkin has a more of a mix of positive and negative ads, including biographical ads that underscore his business-approach to politics due to his 25 years of experience as a former CEO of the Carlyle Group. Overall, roughly 75% of McAuliffe's television ads include attacks on his GOP opponent. The ads focus on their overlapping stances on Covid-19, election integrity and education. And several of McAuliffe's ads attack Youngkin for opposing vaccine mandates.Ībout 25% of McAuliffe's television ads also link Youngkin to former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed the Republican candidate. Other national and local issues play central roles in both candidate's television ads.įor instance, many of Youngkin's ads either attack McAuliffe for pushing for police reform or Virginia's high crime rates when he served as governor. The ad characterized McAuliffe as "putting politics over parents" and "failing our kids." His comment during the debate came after an argument between the two candidates over a veto McAuliffe signed as governor of legislation that allowed parents to opt out of allowing their children to study material deemed sexually explicit. "I'm not going to let parents come into schools and take books out and make their own decision," McAuliffe said. One of Youngkin's most expensive ads, which cost approximately $1.5 million to produce and air, includes a clip from the first gubernatorial debate where McAuliffe expressed that he does not think parents should decide what schools should teach. Three of Youngkin's most expensive television ads attack McAuliffe for this stance, and have been aired up to 4,200 times. The Republican candidate's campaign has slammed McAuliffe for opposing parental control over public-school curriculum in particular. Youngkin's campaign has seen schools as a pathway to victory amid a crusade against mask mandates and critical race theory.