Virginia's gubernatorial election is more important than ever as a national barometer
CNN
Virginia Democrat Terry McAuliffe has admitted President Joe Biden's political woes drag on his gubernatorial campaign. But they pale against the shockwaves that would rip through the White House if he loses his race next month at a perilous time for the party in Washington.
If Republican Glenn Youngkin triumphs in a margin-of-error tussle in the commonwealth, already alarmed Democrats would tip into full-on panic about next year's midterms, when their party faces a historical disadvantage as the party in the White House. The devastating blow would swell doubts about Biden's own political authority and capacity to drive an endangered agenda through Congress with a spending and debt cliff looming in December. And Youngkin, a wealthy former private equity executive, would trigger an inquest among Democrats over whether tarring GOP candidates with the polarizing aura of Donald Trump -- as McAuliffe has done incessantly -- will be quite so potent when they're not running in deep blue states like California and when the ex-President is not on the ballot.
On CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, the once and possible future Virginia governor tried to explain why the race is so close in a state where Biden thrashed Trump by 10 points only 11 months ago.
The Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Thursday morning will send a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland referring a potential criminal case involving former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the Department of Justice, alleging he lied to Congress.