Youngkin’s Virginia win jolts Democrats, tight race in NJ
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican 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 GOP candidate to win statewide office in a dozen years.
The 54-year-old Youngkin’s defeat of Democrat Terry McAuliffe marked a sharp turnabout in a state that had shifted to the left over the past decade and which President Joe Biden captured by 10 points in 2020. And as the party felt the sting from that loss, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey was virtually deadlocked in his bid to win reelection in a state Biden won by 15 points.
Democratic Panic Rises as Virginia Loss Exposes the Party’s Failures
Republican Youngkin wins Virginia governor’s race in blow to Democrats, NBC News projects
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Newsmax has projected GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin will defeat Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia gubernatorial election Tuesday night.
Decision Desk HQ also made its early projection via tweet at 8:37 p.m. ET. The latest AP ballot results from Virginia will be updated live here.
Based on the outstanding votes, Youngkin was favored to win by a narrow margin, according to election analysts on Twitter.
A McAuliffe loss in Virginia, which Democratic President Joe Biden won by a double-digit margin over Republican then-President Donald Trump last year, would represent a demoralizing setback for national Democrats. McAuliffe saw his lead in public polls evaporate in the campaign’s closing weeks.
Trump trolled McAuliffe in a statement from his Save America PAC just after 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday night:
“It is looking like Terry McAuliffe’s campaign against a certain person named ‘Trump’ has very much helped Glenn Youngkin. All McAuliffe did was talk Trump, Trump, Trump and he lost! What does that tell you, Fake News? I guess people running for office as Democrats won’t be doing that too much longer. I didn’t even have to go rally for Youngkin, because McAuliffe did it for me. Thank you to the MAGA voters for turning out big!”
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 t.co/Fcf4Rd2VYO pic.twitter.com/i8igjgSl0w
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 2, 2021
CIATTARELLI 49.6% MURPHY 49.6%