Republican Glenn Youngkin, a former business executive and a first-time political candidate, was projected early Wednesday by The Associated Press to win the governorship of Virginia, beating Democratic former governor Terry McAuliffe in a result that seemed unlikely over the summer and could have national repercussions as the midterm elections approach.
McAuliffe on Wednesday morning conceded the race:
While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in. We must protect Virginia’s great public schools and invest in our students. We must protect affordable health care coverage, raise the minimum wage faster, and expand paid leave so working families have a fighting shot. We must protect voting rights, protect a woman’s right to choose, and, above all else, we must protect our democracy. While there will be setbacks along the way, I am confident that the long term path of Virginia is toward inclusion, openness and tolerance for all.”
McAuliffe went on to congratulate Youngkin. He also thanked his family and campaign staff.
The Associated Press called the election for Youngkin at 12:39 a.m., in what looks like the preface for a Republican sweep of the three statewide offices.
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鈥淚t looks like it鈥檚 going to be a historic sweep for Republicans tonight,鈥� 草莓传媒 Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller said late Tuesday, as their candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general also have sizable leads.
Republicans hadn’t won any of these offices since 2009.
All members of the 100-seat House of Delegates are also being elected Tuesday, and several local offices in the D.C. area are also up for grabs.
No big announcement or anything, the doors just open and voting is underway in Virginia continuing coverage all day long
— John Domen (@JDDsays)
The statewide races
Speaking shortly after 1 a.m., Youngkin thanked his wife, Suzanne, for 鈥渦nbconditional love,鈥� and said of his kids, 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure they were all on board at the beginning.鈥� He then reiterated several of the key planks in his Day One program.
Youngkin promised the largest education budget in the history of Virginia, with raises for teachers and better facilities, along with giving parents more options for charter schools. (He got a swell of applause for promising 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to embrace our parents, not ignore them,鈥� an echo of McAuliffe鈥檚 infamous phrase 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.鈥�)
He also promised 鈥渢he largest tax refund in the history of Virginia,鈥� with facets including eliminating the grocery tax, suspending the latest gas tax, cutting taxes on veterans鈥� retirement and doubling the standard deduction.
鈥淭his stopped being a campaign long ago,鈥� Youngkin said. 鈥淭his is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before — the spirit of Washington and Jefferson and Madison and Monroe and Patrick Henry. Of Virginians standing up and taking our Commonwealth back.鈥�
For his part, McAuliffe at about 10:20 p.m. told supporters at his headquarters in McLean that 鈥淲e鈥檝e still got a lot of votes to count. 鈥� Every single Virginian deserves to have their vote counted.鈥�
The suburbs and exurbs of Virginia have generally trended Democratic, and Youngkin isn鈥檛 likely to win areas such as Loudoun and Prince William counties, but he鈥檚 doing well enough to hold McAuliffe off, and 鈥渒ind of wipe out the huge urban areas鈥� where the Democrat is cleaning up, Miller said.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato鈥檚 Crystal Ball, at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said that Youngkin did much better than expected in Loudoun and Prince William counties, where he鈥檚 at nearly 45% and 47%, respectively.
Traditionally, 鈥渋t鈥檚 good to be the non-presidential-party candidate in the Virginia gubernatorial race,鈥� Kondik said, and that鈥檚 true this year as well, as 鈥渢he Democratic brand is sinking nationally.鈥�
Youngkin, 54, spent time on the campaign trail touting his business background, while keeping Republican Party standard-bearer at arm’s length; McAuliffe sought to tie Youngkin to Trump, while touting his own record as governor from 2014 to 2018.
Kondik added that the Republican Party doesn鈥檛 seem to have been tarnished by the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-president Donald Trump.
鈥淧eople have pretty short memories, I think,鈥� Kondik said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 seem like that was a big factor in this race. 鈥� That just seems to be the reality.鈥�
Miller said Republicans 鈥渁re just more energized right now鈥� as the 2022 midterm elections approach. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no question that this is going to send shock waves across the Democratic landscape.鈥�
CBS 草莓传媒 political analyst Leonard Steinhorn said, 鈥淚f the Democrats have any good news out of this, it鈥檚 that the midterms are a year away and they have time to recover.鈥�
He said the strong showing has indicated that 鈥淩epublicans have figured out how to campaign in the post-Donald Trump age,鈥� saying that Youngkin 鈥渇igured out he could embrace Trump quietly鈥� with a message about election integrity (a callback to Trump鈥檚 lies about the 2020 election), while distancing himself to come off as 鈥渁 regular, fleece-wearing suburban dad who was a businessman, knows how to create jobs and doesn鈥檛 seem too threatening.鈥�
Maya King of Politico told 草莓传媒 that voters, especially Black voters, were seeing 鈥渁 lack of progress on President Biden鈥檚 agenda, particularly for Black voters,鈥� on issues such as the economy, voting rights and COVID-19. 鈥淏lack voters aren鈥檛 souring on Terry McAuliffe, but they are experiencing a bit of fatigue after showing up and turning out in historic numbers in 2020, but not seeing that return on investment.鈥�
History will be made whichever way the lieutenant governor鈥檚 race breaks, as either Democratic Del. Hala Ayala or Republican former Del. Winsome Sears would be the first woman of color elected to statewide office in Virginia.
Introducing Youngkin in the predawn hours of Wednesday, Sears said, 鈥淲hat you are looking at is the American dream,鈥� flanked by her family and recalling her father鈥檚 journey from Jamaica in 1963.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a historic night, but I didn鈥檛 want to make history,” Sears said; “I just wanted to leave it better than I found it.鈥�
The attorney general鈥檚 race pits Democratic incumbent Mark Herring against Republican Del. Jason Miyares.
Herring touted his efforts on police reform and a dip in overall crime, while Miyares repeatedly brought up an increase in the commonwealth’s homicide rate.
The House of Delegates
The House races include some close contests in the D.C. area, and Democratic control of the chamber, currently at 55-45, could be up for grabs. You can check out the results, updated live as they come in, and get more details about the races to watch.
Live election results for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general
Getting the results
It appeared that results would come in more quickly than they had last year, since Virginia changed the law regarding the counting of absentee and mail-in ballots.
Virginia used to group all absentee, early and mail-in ballots in a city or county together, and they were processed and counted last, in a central absentee precinct. Last year, that meant a boatload of ballots were waiting until the end of the night to be processed and counted.
The General Assembly changed the law this year, so that local registrars could start processing (not counting) these ballots at least seven days before Election Day, and start counting before the polls close.
Live election results for House of Delegates races in Northern Virginia
It didn’t work out that way; multiple counties reported in-person Election Day voting first, and Fairfax County blew through their self-imposed 8 p.m. deadline for releasing the counts of mail-in ballots.
Mail-in ballots that were postmarked Tuesday can still come in by 5 p.m. Friday and still be counted. People who need to add documentation to shore up a provisional ballot have until then, as well. The results will be certified Nov. 15.
At the polls
草莓传媒 has been covering the lines, the turnout and voters’ reactions all day. Have a look at our continuing coverage, including photos.
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