“Free, positive TV time in a state Obama carried twice can’t be beat,” Sabato said.

Sabato said he’ll be watching Thursday to see how Obama speaks about Trump.

“Will it be direct or inferential? Probably the latter, since any specific mention will unleash Trump’s tweets — but it is also possible that Obama will use this opportunity to respond to some of Trump’s attacks on him — such as whether he called the families of fallen soldiers,” Sabato said. “In any event, in Virginia, Obama vs. Trump is no contest — it’s Obama handily. Northam wants that to rub off on him.”

John Whitbeck, the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, suggested Obama’s trip may be more of a wash in light of the major electoral gains Republicans made in the Obama era.

“You bring in Barack Obama, sure it’s going to fire up the far left and they’re going to be excited to see him,” Whitbeck said during a radio appearance on the conservative “John Fredericks Show.” “But if you look at just the body of work of the Republican Party in the era of Obama, it really is the reason why the DNC is broke and ineffective. It’s the reason why the three statewide Democrats are facing a nail-biter election.”