It probably wasn't Bill Nye's political punditry that attracted thirteen hundred people to Charlottesville's hundred-and-thirteen-year-old, flag-and-bunting-clad Jefferson Theatre on the Tuesday evening two weeks before Election Day. The crowd inside had been lined up for hours to hear from Abigail Spanberger, the former congresswoman running for governor, and Pete Buttigieg, her star surrogate for the night. But the Science Guy, who'd got to know Spanberger through discussions on space policy, had the stage first.
Barack Obama headlined a rally Saturday in Virginia to try to secure a victory for the state's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who leads in polls days before the election. Obama moved between criticizing Donald Trump and Republican policy and rhetoric with a bit of humor while also explaining how Abigail Spanberger could help counter what Democrats see as the country's downward trajectory.