Cuccinelli: Obama Visit Actually Helps My Campaign

Republican gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli answers questions after a political science class at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Steve Helb... Republican gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli answers questions after a political science class at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) MORE LESS
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Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) argued Friday that President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Virginia to campaign for Democrat Terry McAuliffe would actually help Cuccinelli’s campaign.

Cuccinelli suggested that Obama’s visit would draw attention to Obamacare.

“Let’s be clear, it’s a complete disaster,” Cuccinelli said of the healthcare law in a conference call with reporters on Friday. “And the law’s namesake, the president, is coming to Virginia and that is a huge plus for us. Does anyone believe Terry McAuliffe wants to address why Virginians were lied to and are losing access to their insurance and their doctors?”

Obama will appear at a rally with McAuliffe on Sunday.

McAuliffe has focused most of his attacks in the governor’s race on tying Cuccinelli to the federal government shutdown and portraying him as a radical conservative, especially on contraception and women’s rights issues. That strategy seems to be paying off. Most recent polls have shown McAuliffe ahead and a Christopher Newport University poll released Friday showed McAuliffe leading Cuccinelli by about 7 percentage points.

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