Sam Stein painted a grave picture Wednesday for Democratic Virginia gubernatorial hopeful  Terry McAuliffe's chances at winning back his old job, citing a lack of engagement in the race amongst Democrats as a major concern. 

During an appearance on "Morning Joe," Stein attributed that lack of engagement to President Joe Biden's "plummeting" poll numbers, as well as lingering anxiety surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, and declared that McAuliffe was "holding on for dear life."

"If you’re the party in power, usually you have a tough time in these elections … But in this case I think there are some particulars, the national dynamics, that are playing into this," Stein told host Joe Scarborough, who claimed that Democrats had to be wondering why this race in a blue state was such a difficult one. "One is Joe Biden’s plummeting popularity rating is a indicator of trouble for McAuliffe. Democrats are not engaged."

"Whatever momentum, legislative momentum, may have been there early on that had generated so much enthusiasm and excitement among all facets of the Democratic Party, that’s gone. That’s been sapped," he added.

Stein stated that continued anxiety over the pandemic situation not improving was also causing trouble for Democrats, and more specifically Biden, when it came to what polling data was showing. McAuliffe has trotted out high-profile figures like Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Vice President Kamala Harris in the campaign's final days.

"So McAuliffe is holding on for dear life. He obviously wants to get something passed, whether it's just the infrastructure package, perhaps the reconciliation bill. He wants to show signs of momentum. but it's impossible at this juncture to see — well, not impossible, but very difficult to see how anything substantial gets done between now and next Tuesday when the actual vote takes place," Stein said, referencing the $3.5 trillion spending package currently being debated in Congress. 

Stein's warning joined a host of media figures who've signaled an increased level of panic amongst Democrats over the possibility McAuliffe could lose to Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin. Polling shows a tight race heading into the final days.

CNN's John King and Dana Bash addressed McAuliffe's performance on the campaign trail earlier this month, with King sounding the alarm over his repeated campaign blunders, and Bash taking a dig at him for obsessing over former President Donald Trump during an on-air interview. 

"You mentioned Donald Trump," Bash said during the interview. "I'm glad I have two cups here so I can keep drinking when you mention Donald Trump's name."

Liberal CNN host Chris Cuomo appeared frustrated and concerned Tuesday over an ad Youngkin began running that criticized McAuliffe for his stance against parents having a say in what schools teach their children. 

He referred to Youngkin's ad as a scare tactic and appeared to defend Democrats' policies on teaching critical race theory in schools, as well as testing, vaccine and mask mandates.