ARLINGTON, Va. – Hillary Clinton will publicly endorse Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe on Saturday. She joins other high-profile leaders that have thrown their political weight into the race, including Ron Paul for Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli.
But with election day just a couple of weeks away and millions of dollars spent on political advertisements, what do voters really know about the candidates?
“I know absolutely nothing,” says Arlington resident John Tavolacci. “I don’t really follow politics much.”
Tavolacci is one of many voters in northern Virginia who say they simply don’t know or don’t care about the race.
Shelley Newhouse says she plans to vote but isn’t familiar with any of the candidates.
“I don’t follow it…. I’ll probably do some research right before I go,” she says. “…Figure out who I’m supposed to vote for.”
She’s more interested in national politics and says the state races are often overlooked.
Others say they are informed voters, but they’re not impressed by the choices.
Sami Ayish says he plans to half-heartedly vote for Terry McAullife.
“It’s not that I like McAuliffe so much at all,” he says. “It’s just that I dislike Cuccinelli.”
Ayish is also ambivalent about Clinton’s endorsement and says it doesn’t affect his decision one way or the other.
“Who cares about endorsements?” he asks.
The latest NBC News/Marist poll finds that among likely voters, Democrat Terry McAuliffe leads Republican Ken Cuccinelli by 8 percent while Libertarian Robert Sarvis gets 9 percent. The poll has a 4 percent margin of error.
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