Possible fake McAuliffe campaign sign spotted in Herndon

A possible fake campaign sign spotted in Herndon saying “Keep Parents Out Of Classrooms” and “Vote McAuliffe” was not sanctioned or distributed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s campaign or the Democratic Party of Virginia.

The controversy arose this past weekend when Matt Lang, Republican challenger for the delegate seat in the 36th District, tweeted about the sign that uses a phrase that Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin has latched onto during the gubernatorial campaign.

This is how @TerryMcAuliffe and @VAHouseDems think of us as parents. They tell you to “shut up, sit down, and pay your taxes”. I say, NO! My child, my school, my voice! Let’s tell them to pound sand on November 2! Win with @GlennYoungkin and @vahousegop pic.twitter.com/iJLrgxAybW

— Matt Lang (@LangForVA) October 24, 2021

It appears the aim with the sign is reverse psychology, promoting that Democrats and McAuliffe want to “keep parents out of classrooms” while asking voters to “Keep Virginia Blue.”

The sign also does not include a federally-required disclaimer identifying who or what organization paid for them.

Reston Now has independently confirmed that, as of Monday night, the sign at Frying Pan Road and Burrough Farm Drive was still there.

However, both Democratic Party of Virginia and McAuliffe’s campaign have denied their involvement with the sign or others that have apparently been spotted in Northern Virginia.

“These signs are not ours. They were not sanctioned or distributed by Terry for Virginia or the Democratic Party of Virginia,” Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Virginia, wrote in a statement to Reston Now.

“This is not a sign distributed by us,” a spokesperson for the McAuliffe campaign told PolitiFact. “It’s not our sign.”

Lang told Reston Now that he also has spotted the same sign near Fox Mill Road and heard of other signs near McLean.

“I have no idea who put them up,” he said. “But they echo what [McAuliffe] has been saying at the debates and during the campaign.

At this point, it remains unclear who put the signs up as they’ve garnered some national attention.

Reston Now has reached out to the Youngkin campaign, but has yet to hear back as of publication. Reston Now has also reached out to the Virginia Department of Elections about if they could provide more information on the legality of such signs, but that information has yet to be provided.

With less than a week before the election for Virginia’s next governor,  McAuliffe holds a very narrow lead in the polls over Youngkin.

David Taube contributed to this story