The FDA's approval of the Pfizer vaccine has created a new twist in the race for governor.
Former GovernorTerry McAuliffe says employers should require the COVID-19 vaccine for all employees who are eligible – a new twist in the hotly contested race for governor.
Democratic strategist Ben Tribbett says McAuliffe has an opportunity here to go after well-educated, Republican voters who are pro-vaccine, especially in Northern Virginia,
"If Terry McAuliffe loses this election because he was too strong on coronavirus restrictions, then I think the election was probably unwinnable anyway because if the public has turned so definitively against keeping the community safe and healthy, then I think they probably are also moving on other issues," he explains.
Republican Glenn Youngkin says he’s been vaccinated, and he encourages everyone to join him. But he also says Virginians shouldn't be bullied into complying.
Terry McAuliffe wants to "make life difficult" for Virginians by issuing a government mandate that attempts to bully them into complying with what McAuliffe and the government thinks is best, and that will clearly evolve into closing down businesses & locking down Virginia again. https://t.co/P48v3Xz8Tm
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) August 23, 2021
Republican strategist Dan Scandling says the idea of a mandate just won't sit well with a lot of voters.
"Youngkin's in a tough place. He's got to win the suburban areas, and they want people to get vaccinated," says Scandling. "In the rural, more conservative areas of the state they just don't want to do it. And he's got to thread that needle. It's not easy. Republicans generally don't like mandates."
A recent poll from the Associated Press found a partisan split on vaccine mandates in K-12 schools. Most Democrats support them, and most Republicans oppose them.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
