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Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial candidate faced a new wave of criticism over unearthed footage of him saying that teaching diversity and inclusion in schools is just as important math and English. 

Terry McAuliffe faced backlash after conservative journalist Christopher Ruffo shared a 2019 C-Span interview with McAuliffe discussing the rise of white nationalism. 

In the interview, McAuliffe said that schools needed to begin teaching students about diversity and inclusion at a younger age to curb the rise of white supremacy, and claimed that doing so was just as important as teaching any other subject. 

'We don’t do a good job in our education system talking about diversity, inclusion, openness and so forth. We don’t,' McAuliffe said, while calling for the subjects to be taught to children from kindergarten to sixth grade. 

He then added: 'How we deal with one another to me is as important, you know, as your math or English class.' 

Virginia's gubernatorial Republican Candidate Glenn Youngkin has criticized opponent Terry McAuliffe as being out of touch with what parents want in school

The clip has continued to fuel the fires in the Virginia's governor's race as McAuliffe's opponent, Republican Glenn Youngkin, said that the current debate about what to teach students in school will put him over the top. 

Youngkin, who was behind in the polls over the summer, is now tied with McAuliffe at 48 per cent, according to the most recent Emerson College Poll. 

Nearly a third of Youngkin's supporters are backing him due to his stance on education. Early voting has begun, with in-person voting scheduled for November 2.

Youngkin has made a comeback in the fall and now ties with McAuliffe at 48 per cent

On Twitter, people went on to attack McAuliffe and echo sentiments that moral teachings should be parent's responsibilities, not the government's. 

Earlier this month, he sparked furious condemnation after calling on parents to take a back seat and let teachers decide what children are taught.  

'How about schools do a better job teaching core subjects and civics and leave the social, moral and ethical stuff to the parents and the churches that families choose,' Twitter user Carolyn Cronje wrote. 

Another Twitter user with the handle Beellyboi wrote, 'No thank you, Mr. McAuliffe. Please feel free to share this with your own children and your other relatives and friends.' 

Twitter user Bryan Beatty said McAuliffe's policy undoes the relationship between people and the state. 

'He believe s that the "state" should be teaching morals and principles not the parents and the church and community!' 

But some did go to McAuliffe's defense and say that it was important to teach students US history as it happened, demonstrating the current divide between voters in Virginia. 

'When I was a child, Virginia history was taught in 4th grade and in 7th Grade. It was a confederate apologist history. Let's just teach real history, which is one of slavery, racism, along with diversity and inclusion,' wrote user Scott McMorrow.  

McAuliffe continues to receive backlash on twitter for his stance on diversity in education

Some Virginians continue to stand by McAuliffe as education continues to be hot button issue

Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray, who has been studying the race, told Fox News that Youngkin's numbers jumped when he vowed to ban critical race theory from schools and made education a key focus of his campaign.

'McAuliffe's sizable edge on handling Covid and his competitiveness on economic issues last month helped put him ahead in this race, but Youngkin has been able to change the terms of the debate, by using his opponent's words on parental involvement in the school curriculum to shift voter attention on that issue,' Murray explained.

'Not only has this eaten away at the Democrat's previous advantage on education policy, but it has also raised doubts about McAuliffe's ability to handle the pandemic.' 

At center of the debate is the Loudoun County School District, which has became the battle ground for the country's culture war debating hot button issues such as CRT and transgender rights.  

Barack Obama, left, was campaigning for Terry McAuliffe when he attacked Youngkin's general position on education and claimed the rape case in Loundoun County schools never happened

Barack Obama was the latest Democrat to receive backlash over the district's scandals when Furious parents and conservatives have told him to apologize to a Loudoun County couple and their daughter, who was raped by a skirt-wearing boy in a school bathroom in May, after the former president called the row encircling it 'fake outrage' and a 'phony trumped-up culture wars'.

On Monday, juvenile court judge Pamela Brooks ruled that the boy - who has not been named - did force himself on the 15-year-old girl on May 28 in the bathroom at Stone Ridge High School in Leesburg, Virginia.

The case drew national attention because the boy was wearing a skirt at the time and the girls' parents - Scott and Jessica Smith - said it was what they feared might happen if Loudoun County Schools starts allowing boys into girls' bathrooms frequently as part of a progressive transgender policy.

Smith was dragged out of a meeting on June 22 after hearing teachers from the Loudoun County school board claim they'd received no reports of sexual assaults involving students in the bathrooms, when less than a month earlier, his daughter had reported just that.

Superintendent Scott Ziegler sent an email to parents on the day it happened to say the school was investigating, but told the room on June 22: 'To my knowledge, we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms.' 

Scott Smith, the victim's father, was pictured with a bloody mouth, being dragged out of a school board meeting on June 22 - a month after the attack - after listening to school officials say no one had been sexually assaulted in the bathrooms when that's what his daughter had reported the previous month 

The victim's parents were ridiculed by the left after her father Scott Smith was pictured being dragged out of a school board meeting on June 22. They say they now feel vindicated 

That boy was moved to another school, where he is said to have carried out a second sex attack in October. The youngster is now in custody, amid an uproar over how he was allowed to allegedly offend again. 

Loudoun County Schools hasn't commented on the verdict. 

Youngkin has repeatedly attacked the Loudoun County School Board for its handling of the situation and said he would bring the FBI to fully investigate the board if he's elected governor.

He also targeted the districts woke policies when in April, the county announced that they planned to allocate more then $6 million to 'equity training' which was met with strong opposition by some residents.

Parents in the Loudoun County School District protest teaching CRT in schools in June

Parents also protested the school's trans-inclusionary policies

They claimed that training was part of a pro-CRT push which would lead to students seeing themselves as victims or oppressors, depending on their race.

Since then, the district has seen wave after wave of protests from parents opposing the new mandates.  

Youngkin added that the race in Virginia will serve as a message of where the US will be heading towards.

'Terry McAuliffe wants government between parents and their children. On the ballot right now in November is the future of Virginia and of America,' Youngkin told Fox.