Virginia's political leadership has been flipped Republican after Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe in the race for governor.
Republicans also took control of lieutenant governor as Winsome Sears def. Hala Ayala. Jason Miyares beat Mark Herring for attorney general, giving Republicans a full sweep in all three major elections.
(Graphic: Wall Street Journal)
The Results:
According to the New York Times, Youngkin (R) def. McAuliffe (D) 50.9% to 48.4% in the popular vote. The election is being called an upset because of Va.'s recent history of being a blue state and because McAuliffe had previously served as governor. The vote count went late into the night with the victor not declared until around 1:30 a.m.
The big counties that McAuliffe won:
Fairfax County - 278,349 votes
Loudon County - 87,529 votes
Prince William County - 88,850 votes
The big counties that Youngkin won:
Virginia Beach - 96,826 votes
Chesterfield County - 81,568 votes
Chesapeake - 47,785 votes
Analysis:
It wasn't that McAuliffe didn't win the major Democratic counties, it was that Youngkin was able to cut into the deficit of how bad he lost those counties. The biggest being Va.'s most populated county, Fairfax, where Youngkin was able to retain nearly 35% of the votes. That, combined with Youngkin dominating southwest Va. - even out performing former Pres. Donald Trump in many southwest counties, Youngkin was able to secure the victory.
While many news agencies praised Youngkin for running a tactical campaign, many criticized McAuliffe. According to Van Jones, "I think that he did not run a campaign that fit his time, and that fit the state," said Jones. "I think he was trying to run against Donald Trump."
The crucial turning point of the election outcome was about public schooling. Youngkin made parents' opinions about what their children are learning a focal point of his campaign. Specifically, the debate about implementing Critical Race Theory into Va. curriculum. McAuliffe's demise came about when he said, "I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." This sent Va. parents, mainly white mothers, into a frenzy - leading to a big swing for Youngkin.
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