RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia gubernatorial election early Wednesday, fueled by culture war disputes over schools and race to unite the most ardent supporters of former President Donald. Trump with enough suburban voters to become the first Republican to win an elected state seat in 12 years.
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“Together we will change the trajectory of this commonwealth,” Younhkin told supporters celebrating in a hotel ballroom in Chantilly, about 25 miles west of Washington. When the vote was decided, around 00:45, AC / DC’s “Thunderstruck” had sounded in the room.
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Youngkin promised to immediately improve the state’s schools. “There is no time to lose. Our children cannot wait. We work in the time of real people, not in the time of government ”, he affirmed.
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In addition to the painful Democratic defeat in Virginia, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was locked in a fierce fight against former State Assemblyman Jack Ciattarell in his bid to become the first re-elected Democratic governor there in more than four decades.
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The election was the first major test of voters’ opinion since Biden took office, and the results were a grim warning of support for the president.
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The White House has been hit in recent months by the chaotic departure of US forces from Afghanistan, an at times bumpy economic recovery amid the pandemic and a legislative agenda in danger of stalling on Capitol Hill.
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Youngkin, a political rookie and former private fund executive, was able to take advantage of the apparent apathy of grassroots Democratic voters after years of elections billed as must-have victories. He managed to describe McAuliffe, a former state governor and a close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, as part of a privileged class of politicians. He also took advantage of a slip by his rival towards the end of the campaign, who during a debate suggested that parents should play a minimal role in designing the school curriculum.
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Meanwhile, mayoral votes in cities like New York, Boston, Saint Louis, Detroit and Seattle promised to transform leadership in many of the nation’s largest cities.
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Elsewhere, former Democratic police captain Eric Adams won the mayoral race in New York City, and Boston voters elected Councilwoman Michelle Wu, the city’s first Asian-American mayor. Cincinnati elected its first Asian-American mayor, Aftab Pureval.
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Minneapolis voters rejected a bill calling for their city’s police reform, where a white cop killed George Floyd in 2020, sparking the largest wave of anti-racism protests in generations.
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Associated Press reporters Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Hank Kurz, in Richmond, Virginia; Alexandra Jaffe, in McLean, Virginia, and Jill Colvin, in New York, contributed to this report.
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