Democrats concerned in Virginia as McAuliffe struggles to win over Black voters: report

Speaking to POLITICO, Democratic strategists and lawmakers are expressing concern that Black support for Democrat Terry McAuliffe is weaker than it could be in the race for Virginia governor.

Partly sparking the concern are anti-McAuliffe mailers that accuse him of being "on the side of abusive police officers."

"The focus on Black voters in the final stretch of the campaign illustrates the critical role they'll play on Tuesday. Not only did McAuliffe win a prior term as governor with the overwhelming support of Black voters, especially Black women, every national election since then has proved how critical they are to Democratic chances of victory in close races," POLITICO reports. "While some involved in Virginia have taken heart in a late upswing in energy, others stressed that Black voters are exhausted from the fight against Donald Trump and frustrated with a lack of progress in Washington."

Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, tells POLITICO that despite a slight uptick in Black support for McAuliffe in recent weeks, the concerns are still there.

"People are still struggling with all kinds of things right now — burying family members because of Covid, getting back to work, getting back to school," Shropshire said. "It shouldn't come as a surprise, but it's still anxiety-producing that there's this feeling that people aren't paying attention, aren't as engaged as we'd hope."

Read it over at POLITICO.