#BREAKING: Glenn Youngkin Wins Virginia Governor's Race, Defeating Terry McAuliffe

Youngkin wins Virginia governor's race, jolting Democrats
By WILL WEISSERT and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press Nov 3, 2021 Updated 1 hr ago
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governor's race early Wednesday, tapping into culture war fights over schools and race to unite former President Donald Trump's most fervent supporters with enough suburban voters to become the first Republican to win statewide office here in 12 years.

The 54-year-old Youngkin's defeat of Democrat Terry McAuliffe marked a sharp turnabout in a state that has shifted to the left over the past decade and was captured by President Joe Biden last year by a 10-point margin. It is certain to add to the Democrats' anxiety about their grip on political power heading into next year's midterms, when the party's thin majority in Congress could be erased.

In addition to the stinging loss for the Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was in a close fight as he sought to become the first Democratic governor to win reelection there in more than four decades.

The elections were the first major tests of voter sentiment since Biden took office, and the results were a stern warning sign for the president's own support. His administration has been shaken repeatedly in recent months, beginning with the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, challenges in emerging from the pandemic and a legislative agenda at risk of stalling on Capitol Hill.

Youngkin, a political neophyte and former private equity executive, was able to take advantage of apparent apathy among core Democratic voters fatigued by years of elections that were seen as must-wins. He successfully portrayed McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor, Democratic National Committee chairman and close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, as part of an elite class of politicians. He also seized on a late-stage stumble by McAuliffe, who during a debate performance suggested parents should have a minimal role in shaping school curriculums.

Perhaps most significantly, Youngkin prevailed in a task that has stumped scores of Republicans before him: attracting Trump's base while also appealing to suburban voters who were repelled by the former president's divisive behavior.

During the campaign, Youngkin stated his support for “election integrity,” a nod at Trump's lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, while also focusing on education and business-friendly policies. He never campaigned in person with Trump, successfully challenging McAuliffe's effort to cast him as a clone of the former president.

That approach could provide a model for Republicans competing in future races that feature significant numbers of Democratic or independent voters.

Meanwhile Tuesday, mayoral contests from New York and Boston to St. Louis, Detroit and Seattle promised to reshape leadership in many of the nation’s largest cities. Democratic former police captain Eric Adams won in New York City, and Boston voters elected City Councilor Michelle Wu, the city's first female Asian American mayor. Cincinnati, too, is getting its first Asian American mayor, Aftab Pureval.

Minneapolis voters rejected a ballot initiative that sought to overhaul policing in their city, where George Floyd was killed by a white police officer on Memorial Day 2020, sparking the largest wave of protests against racial injustice in generations. The initiative would have replaced the police force with a Department of Public Safety charged with undertaking “a comprehensive public health” approach that would increase funding for violence prevention, dispatch mental health experts in response to some emergency calls and include police officers “if necessary.”

But no other contest in this off-year election season received the level of national attention — and money — as the governor's race in Virginia, a state with broad swaths of college-educated suburban voters who are increasingly influential in swaying control of Congress and the White House.

A former co-CEO at the Carlyle Group with a lanky, 6′6″ build that once made him a reserve forward on Rice University's basketball team, Youngkin poured vast amounts of his personal fortune into a campaign that spent more than $59 million. Favoring fleece vests, Youngkin sought to cut the image of a genial suburban dad, often opening meetings with prayer.

Youngkin ran confidently on a conservative platform. He opposed a major clean energy mandate the state passed two years ago and objected to abortion in most circumstances.

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