“There’s going to be panic. There’s going to be consternation. But what I would tell donors and operatives is, ‘You should be worried, so pay attention and put resources into this,’” said Tim Lim, a longtime Democratic strategist. “The same thing happened in California. Once Democrats started paying attention and keyed into it, the numbers shifted. The same can happen in Virginia.”…

The McAuliffe campaign also released a new TV ad on Wednesday starring Obama, who will stump for McAuliffe Saturday in Richmond. In the ad, the former president faces the camera and says, “Not only are you choosing your next governor, but you’re also making a statement about what direction we’re headed in as a country.”…

Democrats have been split on how much the logjam in Congress is hindering McAuliffe in Virginia. Some of McAuliffe’s allies in Washington — including Sen. Mark Warner, a former Virginia governor himself — have urged congressional Democrats to pass their infrastructure bill before the election to give McAuliffe a boost. McAuliffe has called for Congress to “do their job,” but he said in an interview last week he didn’t view it as necessary for his electoral chances.