As the Virginia gubernatorial race careens toward the finish line, with just over three weeks to go, fundraising emails from former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and other Democrats are sounding the alarm. The McAuliffe campaign has tapped the aforementioned big names to sign emails: Biden urged supporters to chip in because “folks, the Virginia Governor’s race is a big deal not just for the Commonwealth but for our country.” Abrams’ email let everyone know, “All eyes are on Virginia.” And McAuliffe emailed his supporters last week with a simple question: “Are we blowing this?”…

Democrats remain intensely focused on firing up their base in the home stretch. In most public polls, GOP voters have been more enthusiastic about the upcoming election. The most recent was a poll from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University on Friday, which showed McAuliffe up by 4 points within the poll’s margin of error. But the survey also found that Republican voters were more enthusiastic about the race than Democratic voters, which has been consistent with other public polling in the race.

“It’s really, really important, and it’s especially damaging to Democrats,” said Ron Wright, a Republican state central committee member and a co-chair of the Northern Virginia Republican Business Forum. Wright said he believed that Youngkin’s recent focus on education, where the Republican campaign has been hammering away on McAuliffe in TV ads, would further energize Republican-leaning voters and independents.