Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani issued a warning for Virginia voters to reject Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, while dressing as Abraham Lincoln in an online video.
Mr. Giuliani posted the colorful video to Twitter on Wednesday morning, just roughly two weeks out from Election Day.
“Virginia, vote against the man who dishonored our past by selling my bedroom hundreds and hundreds of times to scoundrels in a pay-for-play scheme,” Mr. Giuliani said in the video, impersonating Mr. Lincoln. “In my time, we had a name for people who sold their bedrooms for one night. In your time the name is Terry McAuliffe.”
Mr. McAuliffe, who served a previous four-year term as governor, is in a tight race with Republican financial executive Glenn Youngkin.
Mr. Giuliani continued by calling on Virginians to “end the Clinton sleaze once and for all.” In the tweet, Mr. Giuliani added the caption “#mcauliffeisbad just listen to Abe.”
The former mayor was referencing a 1990s Clinton-era scandal where Congress had investigated allegations that then-President Clinton and Mr. McAuliffe floated a plan allowing Democratic donors to spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House in exchange for contributions to the party. At the time, Mr. McAuliffe was serving as the finance chairman for Mr. Clinton’s campaign.
The allegations came to light after a memo sent by Mr. McAuliffe detailing such a plan surfaced, although the Democrat said the idea didn’t specifically propose overnight stays at the White House.
The proposal to allow top donors into the White House sought to issue some sort of gratitude to donors, after the 1994 midterms resulted in a total Republican sweep of Congress.
Mr. McAuliffe’s memo initially offered a meal or other access to the White House, though Mr. Clinton later said he didn’t think it “would be a bad thing” if they allowed donors to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom.
Mr. Guiliani, who also served as a personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump, did not invoke Mr. Youngkin’s name in his message to Virginia voters.
Early voting is underway in Virginia, as polls indicate a tight race ahead of the Nov. 2 vote.
In a recent CBS News/YouGov poll, Mr. McAuliffe carried 50% of support over Mr. Youngkin’s 47%. The poll, conducted Oct. 4-11, surveyed 1,040 likely voters and had an error margin of 4.1 percentage points.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
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