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Final stretch in competitive second district race

Posted at 2:53 PM, Oct 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-27 17:36:27-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Congresswoman Elaine Luria and Scott Taylor briefly walked past each other on Tuesday morning while talking to voters at the Registrar's Office and had a brief, but pleasant exchange.

The two trying to rally support and convince any undecided voters to come to their side with one week to go until Election Day.

"I will tell you I’ll always run as if we’re 10 points behind," said Luria, who was joined by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe. "We’re not going to take any vote for granted."

"It's always been a close race. It's a close district. It's going to come down to turnout," said Taylor.

Taylor expects the presidential race to play a big factor in the race and believes President Trump can win the second congressional district, just like he did in 2016. "Ultimately, I think the President will win this district and we will be re-elected to Congress," said Taylor.

Gov. McAuliffe expects Virginia to stay blue and thinks Biden will carry this congressional seat. "Joe Biden will lead when he's president, so I think the second is going to be Biden and Luria," he said.

The candidates are done debating and are now trying to make their final arguments to voters. News 3 asked each for their last-minute pitch.

"I'm going to help get this economy turned back around. We're going to get folks aid that's needed with the flexibility that they need," said Taylor.

"What I would say is there's a of things on the ballot this year - one of those things is healthcare. Healthcare is on the ballot," said Luria, who promised to safeguard healthcare if re-elected.

How close is the race? A recent poll said Luria is up seven, but Taylor doesn't buy that.

The Congressional Leadership Fund has been airing anti-Luria ads over the course of the race, but has shifted resources to other races in Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. News 3 asked the group why they're shifting resources, but didn't get a response.

"I don't have any coordination with them and I never expected any outside spending, anyway," said Taylor. "We have plenty of resources to get our message out and win this election."

Related: Elaine Luria and Scott Taylor meet for second debate

Meanwhile, Luria and the Biden campaign are hoping they've done enough. "I think Joe Biden is going to have a strong finish in Virginia and in this district as well," said Luria.

Early voting continues through Saturday in Virginia before Election Day on November 3.

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