Written Nathaniel Mannor
On Wednesday, Republicans awoke to a stunning victory as businessman Glenn Youngkin won his gubernatorial race in Virginia against former governor Terry McAullife. This was a special night for Republicans as they not only one the Governors race in Virginia but also won the race for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. They also flipped the House of Delegates back to Republican control. Combined with the rejection of progressivism in the Buffalo mayoral race, no vote on “Defund the Police” in Minneapolis, and a tight New Jersey governor’s race, 2022 is looking good for the Republican Party
So good that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is already making predictions about Republican gains, “It’ll be more than 70 [Democratic seats] that will be competitive. There’s many that are going to lose their races based upon walking off a cliff from [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.] pushing them. She may not care if she lose (sic). She lost 63 the last time she was Speaker moving policy that the country didn’t care for,” McCarthy told reporters. McCarthy also said that Republicans are coming for seats that at first seemed out of reach for them but after Virginia, those seats are now competitive, ” “If you’re a Democrat and President Biden won your seat by 16 points, you’re in a competitive race next year. You are no longer safe,”
The minority leader’s estimations line up with precedent as Democrats lost 63 seats and their House majority in 2010, following Obama’s 2008 presidential victory. This should scare Democrats into submission with all this information, but they aren’t budging an inch.
When pressed on her strategy in the future, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that the Virginia governor’s race doesn’t change the Democrats’ messaging. But the American people don’t want critical race theory shoved down their children’s throats, they don’t want endless vaccine mandates, and they oppose ostracization for voicing their opinions.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) summed up the Democrats’ failures rather well. “This is the message that united Americans across the country from New Jersey to New York to Virginia to Texas and united Americans behind Republicans last night … Republicans are the party of parents, of education, of small businesses, of freedom and family. Democrats are the party of big government socialism, creating crisis after crisis.”
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about how the Virginia race affects 2022, 2024, and beyond. And for once, I’m with her on this matter.
Photo Cred: (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
