McAuliffe says Biden will campaign with him ahead of Virginia governor’s election

Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe said Tuesday that President Biden will return to the campaign trail with him ahead of Election Day in the commonwealth next month. 

“He’ll be coming back. You bet he will,” the former governor said at an education roundtable in Alexandria on Tuesday. 

No immediate details regarding a trip from the president were given. 

Asked Tuesday whether Biden had been asked to campaign again for McAuliffe, White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to offer any details.

“I don’t have any updates on travel. I would expect we would have more to convey soon about his plans to support the election of former governor McAuliffe,” Psaki said during a press briefing.

Biden last hit the campaign trail with McAuliffe last July in Arlington, marking his first major campaign appearance since the 2020 presidential election.

However, Biden’s approval ratings in the Old Dominion have since slipped. An Emerson College survey released last week showed Biden with a 45 percent approval rating and a 48 percent disapproval rating. 

McAuliffe referenced Biden’s low approval numbers in a video that surfaced last week, warning Democrats to turn out the vote in the state. 

“We got to get Democrats out to vote. We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington as you know. The president is unpopular today unfortunately here in Virginia. So we have got to plow through,” he said. 

The news comes hours after McAuliffe announced on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that former President Obama would be campaigning with him later this month in Richmond. First lady Jill Biden is slated to campaign with McAuliffe on Friday in the Richmond area, while former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will campaign with McAuliffe on Sunday in Richmond and Northern Virginia. 

—Morgan Chalfant contributed to this report. Updated at 3:22 p.m.