Republicans are celebrating victory in Virginia as their candidate for Governor, Glenn Youngkin, has won the election in a tight race in the majority blue state.
Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliff with a lead of more than 85,000 votes, amounting to 51% of the total vote cast in the state. The New York Post reported that the republican win has sent a “political shockwave across America” ahead of midterm elections next year.
McAuliff lagged in polls despite Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris all personally campaigning for him. Youngkin, on the contrary, was endorsed by President Trump as the best choice for Virginia. Trump said he hoped his base turns out to vote for him.
Youngkin made a victory speech around 1 am after being declared the Governor-elect by major media outlets that waited way past midnight to call Virginia’s gubernatorial race for him despite his clear lead with 95 percent precincts reporting.
At the time of this posting, Terry McAuliff had not conceded. At 10:36 pm, when it was becoming clear that Youngkin had secured a lead he could not end, McAuliff tweeted:
Folks, not everything is counted and we’re still waiting for a lot of votes to come in. And we want to ensure every Virginians’ voice is heard.
Folks, not everything is counted and we’re still waiting for a lot of votes to come in. And we want to ensure every Virginians’ voice is heard.
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) November 3, 2021
Initial Response to Youngkin’s Win
The victory of the Republicans in one of the most watched gubernatorial elections in the country is seen as a political blow to the Democrats. The Hill called Youngkin’s victory a “sharp rebuke for Biden” and wrote:
The problem for Biden is that Virginia is not so unusual. His national approval ratings have sunk to about the same level.
Conservative commentator Greg Foreman mocked the leftist mainstream media channels MSNBC and CNN for going in near meltdown and rationalizing McAuliff’s looming loss. Foreman said the country is falling apart under the Biden administration and the Democrats.