Optimism among Republicans is now sky-high after Glenn Youngkin handily defeated longtime Clinton ally and Democrat nominee Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia Governor’s race.
As the Hill reports:
Democrats were dealt a devastating defeat in the Virginia governor’s race, further eroding President Biden‘s political standing and reinforcing former President Trump‘s continuing clout.
Republican Glenn Youngkin, a private equity executive, defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in a state Biden easily carried last year and that Democrats have governed for most of this century. Youngkin basically embraced Trump, who — while staying out of the state — made numerous appeals in the closing days.
In a shocker, the New Jersey gubernatorial race was almost dead even. Even if incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy ekes out a win — much of the remaining votes are in Democratic counties — the race wasn’t supposed to be close. Instead, Republicans significantly improved their vote in the suburbs, a promising omen for them in next year’s congressional races.
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Biden’s declining popularity and congressional Democrats’ infighting and inability, so far, to pass promised legislation contributed to McAuliffe’s defeat. The Democratic Congress still may pass a big domestic infrastructure and social spending bill. The president, though, has less leverage: Witness that he went all-out for McAuliffe, who had served an earlier term as governor.
The results of Tuesday night’s elections have many Republicans believing that the same story may play out on election night 2022 and seal a resounding victory for them in the mid-term elections.
