“Both Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are imploring Virginians to cast ballots early in their hotly contested gubernatorial contest, which has drawn national attention,” Bloomberg reports.

“Signs point to Democrats holding a lead in early votes cast.”

New York Times: “By the time voters cast their ballots on Election Day next Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of other voters will have already done so in person and by mail during a month and a half of early voting. The state’s six-week early voting period, one of the longest in the country, began on Sept. 17 and ends on Saturday.”

A new Wason Center poll shows Terry McAuliffe (D) holds a 49% to 48% lead over Glenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia’s contest for governor.

“Arlington County Board candidate Audrey Clement, who previously told news outlets that she is in her early 50s, appears to be two decades older,” the Washington Post reports.

“When asked about the discrepancy, Clement, a perennial candidate who largely has self-funded her independent campaigns for local office, said that asking for her age amounted to discrimination and violated her right to privacy.”

A new VCU poll in Virginia finds Terry McAuliffe (D) just ahead of Glenn Youngkin (R) in the race for governor, 43% to 40%.

For comparison, the FiveThirtyEight polling average has McAuliffe up by 1.7 percentage points.

Playbook: “Unlike past White Houses, Biden isn’t trying to play down how much Virginia’s gubernatorial race matters for his political standing and agenda. The president is leaning in for better or worse on the eve of his campaign trip to Arlington.”

A new Emerson College poll of the Virginia gubernatorial race finds Glenn Youngkin (R) and Terry McAuliffe (R) tied, 48% to 48%.

A new Cygnal poll in Virginia finds Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin deadlocked in the race for governor, 48% to 48% among likely voters.

For comparison, the FiveThirtyEight polling average shows McAuliffe just ahead, 47.9% to 45.6%.

Former President Obama delivered a fiery address campaigning for Terry McAuliffe, urging Democrats to flock to the polls and taking a number of swings at Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin, The Hill reports.

Said Obama: “Go out there and fight and work because you’re going to decide this election and the direction of Virginia and this country for generations to come. Don’t sit this one out.”

He added: “We ain’t got time to be tired. What is required is sustained effort.”

Dan Balz: “No single election ever answers all the questions of the moment in politics, but fairly or not, the Nov. 2 Virginia contest has taken on outsized importance, particularly to nervous Democrats who are justifiably fearful about losing their congressional majorities in the 2022 midterms. It’s as if the future of the party and of President Biden’s second two years in office are suddenly wrapped up how well McAuliffe does in his bid to regain the governor’s mansion.”

“One thing to remember is that McAuliffe’s victory in 2013, while it beat the historical pattern of Virginians electing a governor from the party that does not hold the White House, did not foreshadow the 2014 midterms, which were won by the Republicans. No matter what happens in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, Democrats will be on the defensive in 2022. The question is: by how much?”

“While New York’s political elite awaits some definitive word from Letitia James about whether she intends to run for governor next year, her campaign team is being less guarded,” the New York Times reports.

“In recent weeks, the team has made four significant new hires, most prominently Celinda Lake, the veteran Democratic strategist who served as one of the two lead pollsters for President Biden in the 2020 campaign.”

“The addition of advisers like Ms. Lake, a longtime party pollster who has a background in electing female candidates, would strongly suggest that Ms. James is gearing up for a high-profile, competitive race — rather than focusing on her current run for re-election as state attorney general.”

Former President Barack Obama on Saturday joins a roster of high-profile Democrats campaigning for Terry McAuliffe, a candidate for Virginia governor in a race seen as a barometer of the country’s political direction, Reuters reports.