Just nine months into his presidency, Mr Obama has proved more of a hindrance than a help to the Democratic candidate, Creigh Deeds. Unlike Democrats across the country in 2008, the state senator is keeping a very loose grip on the president's coat-tails. "Frankly, a lot of what's going on in Washington has made it very tough," he said at a recent forum, adding that voters were "just uncomfortable with the spending, they were uncomfortable with a lot of what was going on".
Mr Obama has made only one appearance with Mr Deeds, and will probably make just one more before polling day. The Democrat is trailing his Republican rival, Bob McDonnell, by nine points in a poll published in the Washington Post last week.
Mr Deeds, 51, may have earned the displeasure of the White House with his honesty, but no one has contradicted his assessment that Mr Obama's massive stimulus bill, and the cost of proposed health care and energy reforms, have raised concern among Virginians.
At the Deeds campaign office in Manassas, there was no sign of Mr Obama in the dozens of posters and banners lining the walls.
Campaigners admitted that Mr Obama is a liability for their candidate. "People assume Creigh is just like Obama and that every Democrat is the same, but they are two different people," said Katya Paige, a 20-year-old student. "Obama is more liberal to my mind."
Mr Deeds is conservative on gun ownership, as most Virginian politicians are, but his plans to raise indirect taxes to pay for improved transport -- a big issue in a Washington commuter town - have played into broader fears about higher taxation.
"We hear a lot of that," said Patrice Ivey, a 19-year-old volunteer. "And they want everything fixed quickly. People are very impatient."
Last year, Mr Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Virginia for 32 years. But many of the young people won over by his electrifying campaign have switched off politics again and are not planning to vote in the election for a new governor on Nov 3.
"I can't deal with small politics to be honest with you," said Alex Moore, 20. "Lots of Obama voters were in college and they are just now more focused on that." Even as a Democrat, he finds it hard to muster much enthusiasm for the president's performance so far. "I guess he has done what he said he would. But there were such high expectations and he hasn't changed the world. There are a lot of people saying he hasn't done what he said he was going to do," said Mr Moore.