I have a few theories about that, Sarah. McAuliffe began this campaign and won a nominally competitive primary by focusing on his connections to Biden, which, at the time, worked pretty well. Biden’s approval rating was way above water for most of the first half of the year. And, so soon after the 2020 election, it looked like Biden had drawn a blueprint for other Democrats to be successful. Views of Biden took a major turn at the end of the summer, and I’m not sure if McAuliffe ever created a strong enough brand separate from the president to withstand Biden’s sinking approval numbers.
