For months leading up to Election Day, analysts have been looking at the Virginia governor’s race as a predictor for next year’s midterm elections. Church Militant’s David Nussman tells us why a GOP victory in one state could snowball into major national gains.
Virginia went to Biden by 10 points in 2020. But the GOP winning the governor’s race this year could be a sign voters are rejecting what Democrats have been up to in D.C.
If that’s true, then control over both houses of Congress could slip out of Democrats’ hands in the midterms, making many of Biden’s policy goals dead in the water.
It could also be said the race was a referendum on Trump, who said in a statement Tuesday night, “All McAuliffe did was talk Trump, Trump, Trump, and he lost!”
Some see it as a referendum on culture war issues overlooked by Democrat strategists.
Major Garrett: “They [Democrats] misread two things: one, that Terry McAuliffe was more popular than he actually was, and that this issue about what school boards are or aren’t doing and how parents either feel empowered or disempowered to talk to their school boards proved to be deeply energizing … .”
Issues at stake in Virginia — like critical race theory and LGBT indoctrination in public schools — have made the race a flashpoint for national debate.
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh argued Youngkin won because “he embraced the culture war.” Walsh stumped for Youngkin on the campaign trail.
Walsh: “And that’s why we’re here today — because we’re not going to sit in silence while our kids, while any kids, are ripped to shreds by these damned vultures, these monsters.”
The GOP’s success in Virginia could motivate other Republicans to rethink their approach for the upcoming midterms.
Polling from Fox News found Youngkin supporters were twice as likely as McAuliffe supporters to name education as the most important issue.
