Democrat strategist James Carville explained why he was campaigning and lending his name to fundraising emails for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.
“Because I’m an email-signing slut,” Carville told Politico.
Carville has signed 47 different fundraising emails for the McAuliffe campaign since July 14, according to Politico. His emails have led to roughly $500,000 in campaign contributions for the Virginia candidate, according to McAuliffe’s campaign.
Carville’s fundraising emails, like those from Virginia Democrats, have focused on stoking a sense of panic among voters, Politico reported.
Carville, who is bald, addressed one email with “I’m not going to have much hair left” in the subject line, while another told Democratic voters that he was “tearing (his) hair out.” One of McAuliffe’s own emails asked supporters: “Are we blowing this?”
Part of the urgency in Carville’s attempts to raise funds relates to how close the race is. Carville told Politico that although forecasts by Cook Political Report that called the election a “tossup,” McAuliffe supporters “were not upset at all.” McAuliffe currently leads Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin by 2.5%, according to FiveThirtyEight, in a state that President Joe Biden won by over 10 points.
The race has also tightened in recent weeks following a series of controversial statements by the Democratic candidate.
McAuliffe said in a debate with Youngkin in late September that he didn’t believe “parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” referring to parents’ concerns over Virginia schools. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate also said he would push to remove restrictions on third-trimester abortion procedures in a mid-September debate.