With less than two weeks from election day, you can expect the reporting on the Virginia gubernatorial race to heat up. As RedState shared yesterday, Democrat Terry McAuliffe snapped and stormed out of an interview because he didn’t like the questions he was asked. That was just the latest in a series of blunders that have hobbled a campaign that should be cruising to a comfortable victory.

By contrast, Republican Glenn Youngkin is seeing signs of building enthusiasm. Last night, he held a rally in Loudoun County in front of an overflow crowd. While speaking, he pressed the issue of the local school board covering up child sexual assaults and offered support to the parents who are fighting back.

Hundreds of folks outside for @GlennYoungkin; it’s WILD out in Fairfax County. pic.twitter.com/NZ5FOKO4jE

— Helder Toste (@HTosteGOP) October 19, 2021

Went out to Youngkin’s education rally tonight. Had a great spot in an overflow crowd of people who are fired up and ready to win! pic.twitter.com/vhztBZLFq8

— Tony (@realtonysm1th) October 20, 2021

Youngkin has been doing the groundwork over the last several months and it appears to be paying off. Whether it will be enough to beat McAuliffe, who is favored due to Virginia’s electoral realities, is a chapter not yet written. Still, Youngkin has to feel good about how far he’s come.

Meanwhile, the Democrat response enters into the pathetic. A group of McAuliffe supporters showed up with an inflatable chicken. Yes, that’s the best they could come up with.

Virginia Democrats have a massive blow-up chicken that looks a lot like Trump at the Youngkin rally tonight. pic.twitter.com/Jt5lTKuSPx

— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 19, 2021

I’m not sure what that’s even supposed to represent. McAuliffe is the one abruptly ending interview because he’s scared of tough questions while hiding behind non-Virginian politicians like Stacey Abrams and Kamala Harris. By contrast, Youngkin is holding big events, facing voters, and doing the leg work on the local level.

But trying to find a good reason for the chicken is giving these people too much credit. It’s there simply as a way to snark about Donald Trump because the Democrats have absolutely nothing left to justify voting for them. McAuliffe’s campaign can’t compete on the issues so it’s devolved into trying to accuse Youngkin of being Trump while at the same time asking him why he doesn’t campaign with Trump.

Glenn Youngkin repeatedly deflected when @Salon asked if he wants Trump to campaign for him or not. pic.twitter.com/PNWMUYzUTg

— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 18, 2021

I find it hard to believe most Virginian voters care about this nonsense. And frankly, if they elect McAuliffe because of silly attacks on Youngkin involving Donald Trump, it’ll be really hard to feel sorry for them. At some point, you either accept the opportunity for change staring you in the face or you suffer the consequences. Virginia is at that precipice, and the choice is clear, in my view.