“I am not a fan of big government because I know the money has to come from somewhere and the money is taxes,” said small business owner Hugo Hernandez, 53, who was born in El Salvador but now lives in Dale City in Prince William County.

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s Mr. Youngkin’s same warnings about Mr. McAuliffe that appeal to the GOP base.

“He’s embraced the far left of his party, including [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s] and [Sen. Bernard] Sanders’ socialist government-run, single-payer health care scheme … make no mistake, McAuliffe is an extremist,” Mr. Youngkin said recently in a virtual speech to the Virginia Tea Party’s “Backlash to Socialism” summit.

With the race tied at 48% in the recent Emerson College/Nexstar poll, the candidates also split the Hispanic vote.

Mr. McAuliffe edged out Mr. Youngkin by one percentage point with Hispanic voters, 48% to 47%.