Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe has argued the state wanted “seasoned” leadership in his campaign against Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin. But the former Virginia governor’s standing as an experienced politician and attacks on former President Donald Trump may actually not work in his favour. A loss in the November 2 election will have wider implications for the Democrats’ prospects in the 2022 midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress and dozens of state capitals.

McAuliffe’s defeat will also make Youngkin the first Republican to win statewide office in a state that Joe Biden won by 10 percentage points during last year’s presidential elections.

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“Everybody is nervous,” said Abbi Easter, who lives in the Richmond suburbs and sits on the state Democratic Party’s steering committee.

McAuliffe’s team is also worried about Biden’s weakened standing among Virginia voters, following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.

Before becoming governor in 2013, McAuliffe served as a former Democratic National Committee chairman and a chief fundraiser for Bill and Hillary Clinton.

McAuliffe’s get-out-the-vote rally on Wednesday drew fewer than 40 people.

Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said the former president “looks forward to being back in Virginia! Details will be released when appropriate.” Easter said it remains to be seen whether anti-Trump posturing will help Democrats secure a win now that he is no longer in office.

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President Biden and former President Barack Obama both joined McAuliffe on the campaign trail earlier this week. The Washington Post has given McAuliffe four Pinocchios for ‘wildly’ inflating Virginia’s coronavirus numbers.

The Republicans have also latched onto McAuliffe’s answer to a question about parents’ efforts to ban some books from school libraries.

“I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” McAuliffe said during the final debate against Youngkin late last month.

Youngkin’s team immediately highlighted the comment to bolster a “Parents Matter” campaign to win over a crucial bloc of suburban voters.

(With inputs from Associated Press)