for new jobs. where we follow the science when it comes to the pandemic. where we work together and listen to each other and we move this country forward. that s what terry s running on. that s why he wants to be your governor. that s why you ve got to get out there and vote. to make virginia a magnet for good jobs. to make sure our kids can go to school safely. terry talked about it. he s got a plan to boost the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. help give young people like the ones in this audience the education they deserve. make healthcare more affordable for everybody. we ve got half a million virginians getting help on the affordable care act. we could be doing more and terry s going to do it. talking about protecting a woman s right to make her own decisions. to keep guns out of the hands
is a concern democrats have had throughout this race. they worry that voters are not as plugged in this this 2021 off year election than they were for biden in 2020. hillary clinton in 2016 and obama twice in 2008 and 2012. that s a concern and that s why you heard obama repeatedly say here this is important. the issues that elected me are on the ballot and that s why he pushed folks to get out and vote. all right. dan, thanks for that. and paul, the former president, he slammed the gop for trying to subvert democracy. a lot of people have been waiting for barack obama to talk about these sorts of things extensively. he did that today. let s listen. why is it republicans don t want you to vote? what is it that they re so afraid of? you know, it, i would assume, terry f they think they ve got better ideas, why don t they just go make the case? tell us your ideas.
you ve been listening to former president obama rally voters in virginia on behalf of gubernatorial candidate, terry mcauliffe. the state s race for governor is seen as a bellwether for the political landscape going into next year s midterms. democrats believe a strong showing by mcauliffe will bode well, but a republican victory could be a warning shot about the political direction of the country nearly a year after joe biden beat president trump for the presidency. let s go to dan in richmond. he s live in the virginia capitol where the former president just finished speaking. also with us is paul begala and with me onset, kirsten powers. dan, to you first. some familiar lines from barack obama. i covered them 13 years ago. we heard don t boo vote back then.
gets done. i used to be a state legislature. don t forget them because that s what s going to help terry be able to deliver for you. and if you do, if you do these things, if you re not tired, if you work, if you vote up and down the ballot, if you get your friends and neighbors and your cousins to vote, if you do all that, we will elect terry mcauliffe. we will election halla, we will elect mark herring, we ll build on our majorities in the state legislature. we ll keep virginia on the path to a better future. i have faith in you. have faith in yourselves. get out there. get to work. yes, we can. god bless you, virginia. god bless the university. god bless the united states of america. thank you, everybody.
and terry talked about wanting to work in a bipartisan way with reasonable republicans. you don t have to, he s not just saying that for the campaign. he did it when he was governor. he s walked the walk. and by the way, terry s not alone. all across the country, democrats are working to make sure that the wealthiest americans and largest corporations pay their fair share in taxes so we can do things like make childcare more affordable. so we can make real progress in the fight against climate change. all across the country, democrats are trying to make it easier to vote, not harder to vote. and push back on republicans who are trying to systemically prevent ordinary citizens from making their voices heard. just this past week, some of you