{"authors":{"0":{"name":"Asher Notheis","url":"\/author\/asher-notheis"}},"authorString":"Asher Notheis","authorHtml":"<a href=\"\/author\/asher-notheis\">Asher Notheis<\/a>","headline":"'Souls to the polls': Virginia churches to air pro-McAuliffe ads featuring Kamala Harris","cleanHeadline":"'Souls to the polls': Virginia churches to air pro-McAuliffe ads featuring Kamala Harris","subhead":null,"section":"News","tags":{"0":"News","1":"Virginia","2":"Kamala Harris","3":"Terry McAuliffe","4":"Church"},"tagsString":"News,Virginia,Kamala Harris,Terry McAuliffe,Church","id":"0000017c-8f22-d3f3-a7fc-dff20a1b0000","date":"2021-10-17T15:28:00+00:00","moddate":"2021-10-17T19:28:56.733","relDate":"last month","displayDate":"October 17, 2021 - 3:28 PM","description":"Hundreds of churches across Virginia are set to air a political ad starring Vice President Kamala Harris \u2014 a move that has raised eyebrows regarding the legality of bringing political campaigns into houses of worship.","lead":{"html":"<div id=\"Brid_34489234\" class=\"brid\" style=\"width:16; height:9;\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"> <meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Washington Examiner Reports: Kamala Harris flips from vaccine skeptic to vaccine booster\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Vice President Kamala Harris is fending off criticism that she politicized the coronavirus vaccine and stymied efforts to get shots into arms by questioning whether the public should trust COVID-19 drugs developed during the Trump administration. Harris hit a nerve when she said during a vice presidential debate last year that she would take a vaccine recommended by doctors and other health practitioners, &ldquo;but if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I&rsquo;m not taking it.&rdquo; At the time, Trump had said that &ldquo;no president has ever pushed&rdquo; the agency responsible for reviewing the vaccine as he had.\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M27S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2021-06-18 14:07:47\" \/><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailURL\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.brid.tv\/live\/partners\/19383\/thumb\/807045_t_1624026400.png\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.brid.tv\/live\/partners\/19383\/sd\/807045.mp4\" \/><\/div> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ \"div\": \"Brid_34489234\", \"obj\": {\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"16\",\"height\":\"9\",\"video\":\"807045\"} }); <\/script> <script type=\"text\/javascript\" async src=\"\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script>"},"image":{"src":"https:\/\/mediadc.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/bc20368\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2263x1273+0+24\/resize\/1200x675!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmediadc-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F75%2Fae%2Fd80ef02f4fa48019a207484dd2b1%2Fap21041860421562.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/mcauliffe-ad-vice-harris-plays-in-300-black-virginia-churches","ampUrl":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/mcauliffe-ad-vice-harris-plays-in-300-black-virginia-churches?_amp=true","social":{"shareTitle":"'Souls to the polls': Virginia churches to air pro-McAuliffe ads featuring Kamala Harris","shareDescription":"Hundreds of churches across Virginia are set to air a political ad starring Vice President Kamala Harris \u2014 a move that has raised eyebrows regarding the legality of bringing political campaigns into houses of worship.","shareImage":"https:\/\/mediadc.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/b2bae3d\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2263x1281+0+20\/resize\/1060x600!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmediadc-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F75%2Fae%2Fd80ef02f4fa48019a207484dd2b1%2Fap21041860421562.jpg","tweetText":"%27Souls%20to%20the%20polls%27%3A%20Virginia%20churches%20to%20air%20pro-McAuliffe%20ads%20featuring%20Kamala%20Harris","linkedinText":"Hundreds%20of%20churches%20across%20Virginia%20are%20set%20to%20air%20a%20political%20ad%20starring%20Vice%20President%20Kamala%20Harris%20%E2%80%94%20a%20move%20that%20has%20raised%20eyebrows%20regarding%20the%20legality%20of%20bringing%20political%20campaigns%20into%20houses%20of%20worship.","url":"https:\/\/washex.am\/3n2vCpd"},"body":"\n<p><span class=\"ArticlePage-articleBody-firstLetter\">H<\/span>undreds of churches across Virginia are set to air a political ad starring Vice President Kamala Harris \u2014 a move that has raised eyebrows regarding the legality of bringing political campaigns into houses of worship.\n<\/p>\n<p>Between Oct. 17 and Nov. 2, a video featuring Harris will play during the morning services of over 300 black churches across Virginia. In the video, <a href=\"\/opinion\/op-eds\/democrats-protect-women-by-eliminating-them\" target=\"_blank\">Harris<\/a> encourages viewers to vote for gubernatorial candidate <a href=\"\/opinion\/columnists\/terry-mcauliffe-is-misreading-what-matters-to-virginia-voters\" target=\"_blank\">Terry McAuliffe<\/a> in the upcoming election, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/10\/16\/politics\/democrats-virginia-mcauliffe-governor\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">CNN<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p>\"I believe that my friend Terry McAuliffe is the leader Virginia needs at this moment,\" Harris says in the video. \"Terry McAuliffe has a long track record of getting things done for the people of Virginia.\"\n<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"\/news\/white-house\/jill-biden-stumps-for-terry-mcauliffe-in-county-where-gop-win-could-mean-game-over-for-democrats\" target=\"_blank\">JILL BIDEN STUMPS FOR TERRY MCAULIFFE IN COUNTY WHERE GOP WIN COULD MEAN 'GAME OVER' FOR DEMOCRATS<\/a><\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>The video is only one part of McAuliffe's religiously minded \"<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TerryMcAuliffe\/status\/1449737621652090880\" target=\"_self\">Souls to the Polls<\/a>\" media blitz. The \"Souls to the Polls\" events will be hosted weekly and are intended to encourage residents to vote on Sundays, with the first event held on Oct. 17, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wavy.com\/news\/politics\/virginia-politics\/souls-to-the-polls-virginia-holds-first-ever-sunday-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\">10 Wavy<\/a>. \n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NEW -- More than 300 Black churches across VA will hear from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@KamalaHarris<\/a> btwn Sun. and November 2 in video message that will air during morning services as part of outreach effort aimed to boost <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TerryMcAuliffe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TerryMcAuliffe<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/VAGOV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#VAGOV<\/a> <br><br>Video first obtained by CNN<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vaefXtWqUe\">https:\/\/t.co\/vaefXtWqUe<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/l8re0KUkN1\">pic.twitter.com\/l8re0KUkN1<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Eva McKend (@evamckend) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evamckend\/status\/1449510191079301122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 16, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<p>The announcement generated controversy on social media, with many questioning if playing the video at church violates laws against political partisanship by religious institutions.\n<\/p>\n<p>Twitter users critical of McAuliffe pointed to the prohibitions the <a href=\"\/videos\/irs-tax-agents-democrats-want-more\" target=\"_blank\">IRS<\/a> has set for churches and asked if McAuliffe and Harris were risking the income tax exemption that any or all of the churches enjoyed. Since 1954, Congress has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/newsroom\/charities-churches-and-politics\" target=\"_self\">prohibited<\/a> all 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, from participating in political campaigns in order to maintain their exemption from income tax. \n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here&#39;s a little message from the IRS: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N3Xkjw8NYc\">https:\/\/t.co\/N3Xkjw8NYc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qDbojlMS5j\">pic.twitter.com\/qDbojlMS5j<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealSaavedra\/status\/1449539917264998402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 17, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is a bad idea, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VP<\/a>. <br><br>It was bad when the Republicans did it, and it is bad when the Democrats do it. <br><br>When you mix politics and religion, you get politics. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VaGt4M4wrC\">https:\/\/t.co\/VaGt4M4wrC<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ed Stetzer (@edstetzer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/edstetzer\/status\/1449577381560193028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 17, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<p>The Nov. 2 election will pit McAuliffe against GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin, who has been endorsed by former President <a href=\"\/news\/trump-warns-virginia-republicans-mcauliffe-youngkin\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a>. \n<\/p>\n<p>A recent <a href=\"\/opinion\/washington-secrets\/its-real-youngkin-edges-ahead-of-mcauliffe-in-virginia-race\" target=\"_blank\">Trafalgar Group<\/a> survey of 1,095 likely election voters showed Youngkin with 48.4% of the vote to McAuliffe's 47.5%, putting Youngkin in the lead for the first time.\n<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"\/\" target=\"_self\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/b>\n<\/p><p>The IRS did not immediately respond to the <i>Washington Examiner's <\/i>request for comment.<\/p>","free":"false","type":"article"}