Last night, Republicans in Virginia shocked the nation by winning a number of big races, the biggest one being the governor’s seat. Republican Glenn Youngkin, a rookie to the political arena and elected office, defeated former governor and Hillary Clinton associate Terry McAuliffe. Winsome Sears also went on to win the Lieutenant Governor’s race. Sears is an immigrant from Jamaica and a Marine Corps Veteran. She is the first black female to serve as Lieutenant Governor. In the attorney general’s race, Delegate Jason Miyares, son of Cuban immigrants, defeated incumbent Mark Herring who was seeking a third term. Republicans also successfully flipped the Virginia House of Delegates back to a Republican majority.
This has sent shockwaves around the country, since many early on saw this race as an easy Democrat victory. Only a year prior, Joe Biden won the state by 10 points over Donald Trump. But as the election got closer, McAuliffe’s lead began to slip away and Youngkin got closer, riding a wave of momentum. With this victory, Republicans are confident heading into the 2022 midterm elections. Senator Rick Scott of Florida said that this election is, “a sign of things to come in 2022!” Much of Youngkin’s success can be attributed to his education stance. While McAuliffe said that parents should not be making decisions about their children’s education, Youngkin said parents should be the biggest factor in education. Youngkin also vowed that critical race theory would be banned in Virginia, while McAuliffe denied CRT existed. Youngkin made gains in every county compared to 2020 and won among parents with children under 18.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are playing the blame game. Progressives and moderates are at each other’s throats over who is to blame. Progressive groups like Justice Democrats blamed McAuliffe’s messaging which heavily focused on Donald Trump and racism, “Terry McAuliffe ran the milquetoast campaign he wanted to run — where every other word he uttered was ‘Donald Trump’…There is still time to adopt an inclusive economic message that crowds out racist dog whistles.” Moderates say that progressive messaging was behind McAuliffe’s loss. Democratic strategist Colin Strother said, “ We have a handful of the far left in the House who have never done anything acting like they dictate the agenda and the timeline for bills passing.”
It is certainly looking up for Republicans heading into 2022. If they can get a victory in a blue state like Virginia, imagine what they can do in swing states like Arizona and Nevada.
Photo Cred: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
