Why Are All Eyes on the Virginia Governor’s Race?

<p>In 2020, Virginia epitomized the way in which Democrats took the White House and Congress — by turning moderate and swing counties.</p><p>But President Biden’s poll numbers have been waning, and in the coming race for governor, Republicans see an opportunity.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/lisa-lerer?smid=pc-thedaily">Lisa Lerer</a>, a national political correspondent for The New York Times. </p><p><i>Love listening to New York Times podcasts? Help us test a new audio product in beta and give us your thoughts to shape what it becomes. Visit </i><a href="http://nytimes.com/audio"><i>nytimes.com/audio</i></a><i> to join the beta.</i></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Republicans in Virginia are saying what their nominee for governor, Glenn Youngkin, will not: The governor’s race is<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/16/us/politics/glenn-youngkin-virginia-governor-trump.html"> a proxy for Donald Trump’s grieva</a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/16/us/politics/glenn-youngkin-virginia-governor-trump.html?searchResultPosition=4">nces</a>.</li><li>Though Virginia is getting bluer, the former governor Terry McAuliffe is straining to motivate Democratic voters for<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/us/politics/terry-mcauliffe-virginia-governor-race.html"> his comeback attempt</a>.</li><li>After months of closed classrooms and lost learning time, Republicans are<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/us/politics/virginia-governor-republicans-schools.html"> making schools the focus of their final push</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcrip