Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) brushed off the suggestion Monday on MSNBC that Ralph Northam could lose Tuesday's gubernatorial race, telling interviewer Katy Tur she needed to "enjoy life" and he wanted her "smiling."
Northam, the state's lieutenant governor, is locked in a tightening race with Republican Ed Gillespie to replace McAuliffe. Northam has generally led in the polls throughout the race, but some Democrats are fretting that Northam could fall short on Tuesday.
Tur asked McAuliffe, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, if he would worry about the party's future if Gillespie triumphed.
"Admit this one thing for me ... If Democrats don't win tomorrow, are you going to be concerned about the future of the party?" Tur asked. "Take yourself out of it for a second. If Democrats don't win ... a swing state where Donald Trump did not win ... are you going to be concerned about the messaging right now and the leadership right now in the Democratic Party?"
"Katy, all I'm telling you —we are going to win all three," McAuliffe said of the Virgina races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. "I feel as confident of this as I have ever felt about any race. I have been out there. I have done over 40 events myself. Katy, you've got to enjoy life a little bit more. I mean, it's not so bad."
"I enjoy life," Tur said. "I enjoy life. And Virginia is a great state."
"Well, you don't sound it!" McAuliffe said. "You've got to enjoy it."
Tur said she might sound a little down due to Sunday's mass shooting at a Texas church.
"Live a little," McAuliffe said. "Don't be so negative about Virginia. We're doing great here."
McAuliffe promised to return to the show Wednesday to discuss the results of the race.
"I just want you smiling and thinking big. Virginia's for lovers," he said.
McAuliffe tweeted after the interview that Virginia was doing well and Tur should "keep smiling!"
Always fun talking with you, @KatyTurNBC! We got it all in Virginia: booming economy & a great next Gov in @RalphNortham! Keep smiling!
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) November 6, 2017