While Virginia may be considered to have gone fully blue by some, polls consistently show that it's not a foregone conclusion when it comes to the 2021 gubernatorial race. The lead Democrat Terry McAuliffe has against Republican Glenn Youngkin has been small. In many polls, the race is even within the margin of error, making it a statistical tie. One way in which Youngkin is looking to set himself apart is through his various forms of outreach.
Recently, the Youngkin campaign launched its ADA compliant website, which users can access on the left side corner of the regular website. Profile options include Epilepsy Safe, Vision Impaired, Cognitive Disability, ADHD Friendly, Blind Users, and Keyboard Navigation.
Terry McAuliffe just deserted a gubernatorial forum hosted by Virginia's disability community after the first question.
— Team Youngkin (@TeamYoungkin) August 12, 2021
He left to attend a fundraiser in Las Vegas with a politician accused of abusing his ex-wife. pic.twitter.com/MrI6cdjLrD
Earlier this month, the statewide candidates were invited to participate in a disability forum put on by The Arc of Northern Virginia, a chapter of The Arc of Virginia. The group and its chapters are non-partisan, non-profit, and have 501(c)3 status. When it comes to the gubernatorial candidates, while McAuliffe did join in on the virtual event, as did Youngkin and Liberation candidate Princess Blanding, he left early to fundraise with Gov. Steve Sisolak (D-NV) in Las Vegas.
There's also 16 coalitions in support of Youngkin, the oldest being Women for Glenn (W4G), which has involvement from Suzanne Youngkin, the candidate's wife, and is led by Shari Maruca. There are over 8,000 members who are part of the W4G coalition.
The coalition has involved various projects, such as donating bicycles for the Peace in Da Paint event in Fredericksburg.
On McAuliffe's website, his section on "Protecting Women’s Rights and Ensuring Gender Equality" refers to how "Terry Will Always Be a Brick-Wall Against Attacks on Reproductive Health," highlighting a focus on supporting abortion and abortion provider Planned Parenthood.
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Another sizable coalition includes Latinos for Youngkin, with 400 coalition members. Youngkin's campaign website is also available in Spanish.
Virginia candidate Terry McAuliffe doesn’t have a Spanish site, he says he’s all about being inclusive but doesn’t even have a LatinosConTerry like he did in 2013 — clearly he doesn’t even need to court Latinos ??#LatinosVote #LatinosTambienVotan
— Astrid Gamez (@AstridGamez128) August 17, 2021
Daniel Cortez, who is the volunteer co-chairman of the coalition, has written on Hispanic voter outreach as well. In a commentary piece last month for Fredericksburg.com, Cortez wrote that "Hispanic voters outraged about CRT turn to Youngkin," referring to the heated battle in the commonwealth over Critical Race Theory, especially in the northern parts of Virginia.
Director of Coalitions Daniel Gade spoke to Townhall about how the coalitions demonstrate Youngkin's abilities to unify Virginians of all kinds, including those who may not normally vote for Republican candidates, or who Republicans may not typically reach out to.
"Glenn is committed to running a different kind of campaign that touches every Virginian where they are and people have different sort of loyalties and allegiances and things, and so what we want to do is is have coalitions that are reaching to as many communities as possible, including communities that don't often get the attention of Republican politicians," Gade said.
Gade offered that voters realize Youngkin "is capable and willing to unite Virginians of all different kinds behind his candidacy."
He also pointed to Youngkin's previous experience as an executive, in how "he's a team builder" and "doesn't break things down, he builds things up," explaining "that's been his business career and that's the kind of campaign he's running his well."
Youngkin has emphasized such a message since the start of his campaign, including even before he became the nominee.
"What's beautiful about Glenn, and the kind of campaign he's running," Gade offered, "will translate nicely into being a great governor." It comes to knowing, which is also demonstrated through the various coalitions, "that in order to win, [Youngkin] needs to build and unite Virginians of all different kinds."
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