President Donald Trump hyped New Jersey's gubernatorial race in a telephone rally on the eve of Election Day, declaring "the entire country" is watching the state and touting Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli.
But at a similar event in support of Virginia Republican candidates on Monday, Nov. 3, Trump didn't even mention GOP candidate Winsome Earle-Sears by name, NBC News and CNN reported, keeping his distance in a race where Democrat Abigail Spanberger has a significant lead in the polls.
The president's contrasting approaches to the GOP candidates in Virginia and New Jersey could signal their political prospects, as Earle-Sears is trailing by 10 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics average of polls, while Ciattarelli trails by just three.
"The polls are looking really good, they’re just about even," Trump said of New Jersey while rallying for Ciattarelli.
Trump hasn’t endorsed Earle-Sears. He urged voters during the Nov. 3 telephone rally to back Republicans in Virginia, without mentioning her name, even as he praised Virginia's Republican Attorney General candidate Jason Miyares by name, according to NBC and CNN.
