弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿——美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)在近3000人面前发表讲话，支持一位温和的民主党人，他竞选弗吉尼亚州州长可能是对拜登自身实力和影响力的考验。
周五晚上，拜登车队穿过波托马克河，支持寻求第二个任期的前州长特里·麦考利夫，他的中间派倾向在许多方面反映了总统的倾向。这场竞选被视为选民对民主党控制联邦政府所有部门的判断的早期衡量标准。
在一个温暖的七月夜晚，总统站在热情的人群面前，他们聚集在公园的亭子和操场上。他强调，他和麦考利夫有着相同的愿景，即需要更多的公共投资来推动经济增长。但拜登也关注政治风险。
拜登说:“你不会找到任何人，我是说任何人，知道如何为弗吉尼亚做得比特里更多。“休赛期选举，国家在看。这是件大事。”
拜登指出了他对大流行的管理，并强调了他任期前六个月的经济复苏，为他的政党提供了一个了解其信息的窗口，因为它试图在明年秋天在国会两院保持微弱优势。他还强调了他的1.9万亿美元新冠肺炎救济法案的相对受欢迎程度，并呼吁就他的基础设施计划采取行动，就像他在对国会选区的正式访问中所做的那样，预计明年将会有势均力敌的竞选。
这显然是2020年后政治的正常回归，当时拜登不得不在免下车集会上对留在车里的支持者发表讲话，或者在稀疏且社交距离远的观众面前发表讲话。站在舞台中央的摇滚歌曲和拥挤的人群表明，民主党今年不会通过Zoom会议和电话会议开展竞选活动。
反对输油管道的抗议者打断了拜登，总统向他2020年的对手开枪，他告诉人群不要喊他们下来。
拜登说:“这不是特朗普的集会。“让他们喊一声。没人注意。”
麦考利夫在该州州长初选中获胜，是自封的务实候选人最近在投票率相对较低的选举中取得的一系列胜利之一，这些选举往往会吸引最忠诚的基础选民，他的竞选正受到民主党人的密切关注，他们希望为明年塑造自己的信息。
“这是对拜登政府的重要考验。优势如此之小，他需要能够利用他的影响力帮助候选人越过终点线，”希拉里·克林顿2016年总统竞选的高级顾问埃德里安娜·埃尔罗德(Adrienne Elrod)说，她也参与了拜登的就职典礼。“他传达的信息很简单:他正在兑现疫苗、创纪录的就业增长和基础设施方面的承诺。”
麦考利夫此前曾在2014年至2018年担任州长，他面对的是政治新人格伦·扬金(Glenn Youngkin)，后者在私募股权领域发了大财。尽管该州在过去十年中呈蓝色趋势，但这场比赛被认为是竞争性的。作为今年仅有的两场定期州长竞选之一，作为2022年中期选举前衡量选民情绪的潜在标尺，正吸引着全国的极大关注。
拜登和麦考利夫的形象相似，都是温和的民主党人，他们不一定能让党的基础兴奋起来，但他们凭借当选的承诺赢得了初选。弗吉尼亚州的竞选可能会成为对拜登地位的检查，民主党全国委员会承诺今年将花费500万美元帮助麦考利夫的竞选，这是一个明确的信号，表明白宫已经将竞选列为优先事项。
尽管共和党的大部分人仍受唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的束缚，但扬金已经将自己定位为一个更温和的共和党人，特朗普在2020年以10个百分点的优势输掉了这个州。他曾表示，他对前总统支持他的竞选感到“荣幸”。
民主党人周五多次试图将扬金与特朗普联系起来。
拜登说:“我告诉你，特里竞选的对手是唐纳德·特朗普的追随者，这是真的。“我不知道这些家伙是从哪里来的。”
拜登在担任参议员和副总统期间，长期以来一直是一名积极的竞选者，并在2018年民主党夺回众议院控制权时，他成功地成为了一名代理人。
但是新冠肺炎大流行消除了2020年竞选的大部分活动，为大选进行的活动在社会上是遥远和罕见的。随着今年春天大流行的消退，一向是最有触觉的政治家的拜登已经陶醉于与人互动，在费城最近的一次活动中，他花了一个小时与支持者聊天。
助手们说，他渴望周五在阿灵顿也这样做。但私下里，人们越来越担心该病毒传染性极强的三角洲变种所带来的危险。
白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基(Jen Psaki)表示，拜登将遵循联邦卫生指南，该指南对接种疫苗的个人没有任何限制。
拜登承诺与共和党合作，并在两党基础设施协议上花费了巨大的政治精力。但他仍在周五对共和党穷追不舍，称它“只会带来恐惧、谎言和失信。”
白宫助手指出，民调显示，拜登的议程受到两党选民的广泛欢迎，尽管它几乎没有得到华盛顿共和党议员的支持。但共和党战略家对拜登的民调数字能否转化为选票表示怀疑。
虽然拜登和麦考利夫都在民主党政治中活跃了几十年，但他们之间的直接政治联系相对较少，尽管麦考利夫在2020年为拜登主持了州竞选。但他们在政治和意识形态上有着广泛的相似之处。
乔治梅森大学政治学教授马克·罗泽尔(Mark Rozell)表示，弗吉尼亚州的休赛期选举一直被视为一种全国性的风向标，“随着民主党提名人在哲学上如此接近并与拜登相似，许多人可能会将弗吉尼亚州视为比往常更强的风向标”。
现任民主党州长拉尔夫·诺森和所有弗吉尼亚州州长一样，被禁止寻求连任。新泽西州州长2021年另一场引人注目的休赛期选举预计不会有竞争力，民主党可能会保持控制权。
Biden stumps for McAuliffe in early test of political clout
ARLINGTON, Va. -- President Joe Biden led the kind of campaign rally that was impossible last year because of the pandemic, speaking before nearly 3,000 people in support of a fellow moderate Democrat whose race for Virginia governor could serve as a test of Biden's own strength and coattails.
Biden motorcaded across the Potomac River Friday night to back Terry McAuliffe, a former governor looking for a second term whose centrist leanings in many ways mirror those of the president. The race is seen as an early measure of voters’ judgment on Democratic control of all branches of the federal government.
The president stood before an enthusiastic and largely unmasked crowd who gathered around a park pavilion and playground on a warm July night. He emphasized that he shared the same vision as McAuliffe about the need for greater public investments in order to drive economic growth. But Biden was also focused on the political stakes.
“You’re not gonna find anyone, I mean anyone, who knows how to get more done for Virginia than Terry,” Biden said. “Off-year election, the country’s looking. This is a big deal.”
Biden pointed to his management of the pandemic and highlighted the economic recovery during the first six months of his term, providing a window into his party’s messaging as it tries to maintain narrow margins next fall in both houses of Congress. He also highlighted the relative popularity of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and called for action on his infrastructure plan, much as he has done in official visits to congressional districts expected to see close races next year.
It was a clear return to politics as normal after 2020, when Biden had to speak to supporters who stayed in their cars at drive-in rallies or give remarks in front of sparse and socially distanced audiences. The rock songs and tightly packed people standing before center stage suggested that Democrats will not be waging campaigns via Zoom meetings and conference calls this year.
Protesters against an oil pipeline interrupted Biden and the president took a shot at his 2020 opponent as he told the crowd to not shout them down.
"It's not a Trump rally," Biden said. “Let them holler. No one’s paying attention.”
McAuliffe’s win in his state’s gubernatorial primary was one of a string of recent victories by self-styled pragmatic candidates in relatively low-turnout elections — which tend to draw the most loyal base voters — and his race is being carefully watched by Democrats looking to shape their messaging for next year.
"It’s an important test for the Biden administration. The margins are so small, and he needs to be able to use his clout to help candidates get across the finish line," said Adrienne Elrod, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign who also worked on Biden's inaugural. “His message is simple: that he is delivering on promises on vaccines, record job growth and infrastructure.”
McAuliffe, who previously served as governor from 2014 to 2018, is facing Glenn Youngkin, a political newcomer who made a fortune in private equity. Despite the state trending blue over the last decade, the race is seen as competitive. As one of only two regularly scheduled governor’s races this year, is drawing outsize national attention as a potential measuring stick of voter sentiment ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Biden and McAuliffe profile similarly, as moderate Democrats who don’t necessarily electrify the party’s base but who won their primaries on a promise of electability. The Virginia race could serve as a checkup on Biden’s status, and the Democratic National Committee has pledged to spend $5 million to help McAuliffe’s campaign this year, a clear signal that the White House has prioritized the race.
Even as much of the Republican Party remains in the thrall of the Donald Trump, Youngkin has positioned himself as a more moderate Republican in a state Trump lost by 10 points in 2020. He has said he was “honored” by the former president’s endorsement of his campaign.
Democrats on Friday repeatedly tried to link Youngkin with Trump.
“I tell you what, the guy Terry is running against is an acolyte of Donald Trump, for real," Biden said. "I don’t know where these guys come from.”
Biden has long been an eager campaigner on the road — and on the rope line — during his time as senator and vice president, and emerged as a successful surrogate in 2018 when Democrats won back control of the House.
But the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated campaigning for the bulk of the 2020 race, and the events that were held for the general election stretch run were socially distant and infrequent. As the pandemic receded this spring, Biden, always the most tactile of politicians, has reveled in interacting with people, spending an hour chatting with supporters at a recent Philadelphia event.
Aides said he was eager to do the same in Arlington on Friday. But privately, there was increased worry about the danger posed by the virus’s highly contagious delta variant.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would follow federal health guidelines, which offer no restrictions for vaccinated individuals.
Biden has pledged to work with Republicans and has spent enormous political energy on the bipartisan infrastructure deal. But he still went after the GOP on Friday, saying it “offers nothing more than fear, lies and broken promises.”
White House aides have pointed to polling that suggests Biden’s agenda is broadly popular with voters of both parties, even though it has received little support from GOP lawmakers in Washington. But Republican strategists cast doubt on whether Biden's poll numbers would translate into votes.
While both Biden and McAuliffe have been active in Democratic politics for decades, they have relatively few direct political connections, though McAuliffe ran the state campaign for Biden in 2020. But their political and ideological similarities are extensive.
Virginia’s off-year elections have always been looked at as a sort of national bellwether, and “with the Democratic nominee being so philosophically close and similar to Biden, many may see Virginia as a stronger bellwether than usual,” said Mark Rozell, a political science professor at George Mason University.
Current Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, like all Virginia governors, is prohibited from seeking a second consecutive term. The other notable off-year election in 2021, for New Jersey governor, is not expected to be competitive, with Democrats likely maintaining control.
