Favoring fleece vests, Youngkin sought to cut the image of a genial suburban dad.
The initiative would have replaced the police force with a Department of Public Safety charged with undertaking “a comprehensive public health” approach to policing.īut 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.Ī 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. 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. Cincinnati is getting its first Asian American mayor, Aftab Pureval. Democratic former police captain Eric Adams won in New York, and Boston voters elected City Councilor Michelle Wu as its first female and Asian American mayor. That approach could provide a model for Republicans competing in future races that feature significant numbers of Democratic or independent voters.Įlsewhere Tuesday, some of the nation’s largest cities held mayoral contests. He never campaigned in person with Trump, successfully challenging McAuliffe’s effort to cast him as a clone of the former president. 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.ĭuring 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 also seized on a late-stage stumble by McAuliffe, who during a debate suggested parents should have a minimal role in shaping school curriculums. 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. “We put ourselves out there and left it all on the field.”Ī political neophyte, Youngkin was able to take advantage of apparent apathy among core Democratic voters fatigued by years of elections that were seen as must-wins, as well as growing frustrations with Biden and the economy. McAuliffe formally conceded in a statement Wednesday morning that congratulated Youngkin. Republicans celebrated their strong showing, with Youngkin telling a cheering crowd of supporters that “this is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before.” The GOP’s strength extended to down-ballot contests, including the lieutenant governor’s race, which Winsome Sears won, becoming the first woman of color to win Virginia statewide office. Murphy, in a brief victory speech Wednesday night, alluded to his narrow margin of victory by saying he would “listen to all of New Jersey,” but still emphasized Democratic goals like expanding voting rights, raising taxes on the wealthy and defending abortion rights. Speaking from the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Biden said Democrats need to “produce for the American people.” Given the scale of those victories, neither state was seen as especially competitive when this year’s campaigns began.Īnd they put a new focus on congressional Democrats’ inability so far to pass Biden’s massive domestic policy legislation, though it’s unclear whether the defeat will be enough to jolt his party into action. President Joe Biden carried Virginia by 10 points last year. The two states’ results were particularly alarming to Democrats because of where they happened. Meanwhile, Murphy barely eked out a victory against GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli, who mounted a surprisingly strong campaign on issues including taxes and opposition to pandemic mask and vaccination mandates. In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican to win statewide office in a dozen years, tapping into culture war fights over schools and race to unite former President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters with enough suburban voters to notch a victory. Phil Murphy of New Jersey narrowly won reelection in his reliably blue state while a Republican political newcomer delivered a stunning upset in the Virginia governor’s race, sending a warning Wednesday to Democrats that their grip on power in Washington may be in peril.
0 kommentar(er)
