Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected governor of Virginia on Tuesday, halting a yearslong trend of Democratic electoral gains in the state and giving the GOP a potential playbook in competitive parts of the U.S. ahead of next year’s congressional midterm elections. Mr. Youngkin, a 54-year-old former private-equity executive and political newcomer, defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a party stalwart who served as governor from 2014 to 2018, according to the Associated Press. Mr. Youngkin had 50.7% of the vote, compared with Mr. McAuliffe’s 48.6%, with 95% of precincts reporting.
Seeking both to energize the GOP base and win over key suburban swing voters, Mr. Youngkin focused heavily on education. He pledged to ban the teaching of critical race theory and emphasized the importance of parents having a role in shaping school curricula. Speaking to cheering supporters around 1 a.m. Wednesday, Mr. Youngkin thanked the crowd for staying up late for the results. He said the outcome represented a defining moment for Virginia. “Together we will change the trajectory of this commonwealth,” he said. In a statement Wednesday morning, Mr. McAuliffe congratulated Mr. Youngkin on his victory. “While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in,” Mr. McAuliffe said, touching on issues such as investments in education, healthcare affordability and minimum-wage increases.
Mr. McAuliffe, 64, tried to tie Mr. Youngkin, a former co-chief executive of private-equity firm Carlyle Group, to former President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican who lost Virginia to President Biden by 10 percentage points in the 2020 election. Mr. Youngkin accepted Mr. Trump’s endorsement but didn’t campaign with him. Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial contest has historically favored the party not in the White House, though Mr. McAuliffe’s 2013 victory was an exception. Election officials said turnout was high. About 3.3 million voters were reported, with votes still being counted. About 2.6 million Virginians voted in the last gubernatorial election in 2017, state election figures show. More than 2.2 million Virginians voted in the 2013 governor’s race. Voters who cast ballots identified slightly more as Republicans than Democrats, 49% to 43%, according to preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a large survey of the Virginia electorate. If the finding holds, it would mark a change from the 2020 presidential election, in which VoteCast found the electorate to lean Democratic by 4 percentage points. The shift could indicate that Mr. Youngkin did a better job this year in motivating his party’s core voters than did Mr. McAuliffe.
A political newcomer, Glenn Youngkin focused heavily on education in his campaign. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
About two-thirds of voters in the survey said the country was headed in the wrong direction, while about one-third said it was on the right track. By a large margin, voters named the economy as the top issue facing the state, with smaller shares citing the coronavirus pandemic, education and other issues. In the New Jersey governor’s race, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and his Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli were virtually tied early Wednesday. The candidates clashed during the campaign over fiscal issues as well as Mr. Murphy’s requirement that students wear masks in schools. In Virginia, nationally resonant issues such as abortion and vaccine mandates also figured prominently into the race. While both candidates urged people to get Covid-19 vaccinations, Mr. Youngkin said getting the shots should be a personal choice for state residents. Mr. McAuliffe endorsed mandates for some groups, including vaccine-eligible schoolchildren.
The political dynamic in Washington was seen as a drag on Mr. McAuliffe’s campaign. Although Mr. Biden, a Democrat, easily carried Virginia in 2020, his approval ratings there have fallen to the low-40% range, several polls show, at a time when he hasn’t succeeded so far in getting his infrastructure, climate-change and social-spending legislation through a Congress that his party narrowly controls. Mr. Youngkin is the first Republican since 2009 to win statewide office in Virginia, where explosive suburban growth, especially near Washington, has turned the state bluer. He repeatedly tried to shift focus away from the former president during the campaign. “The only person invoking Trump is you,” Mr. Youngkin said to Mr. McAuliffe during a testy exchange at a debate in September. Still, Mr. Trump sought to take credit for Mr. Youngkin’s victory. “I would like to thank my BASE for coming out in force and voting for Glenn Youngkin. Without you, he would not have been close to winning,” the former president said in a statement Tuesday. Mr. Youngkin’s victory means an end to Democrats’ short-lived across-the-board control in the state capital, Richmond, which resulted from the party’s capture in 2019 of the House of Delegates and Senate from the GOP.
Together with Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, they have used their clout to pass a range of progressive laws. Those included new gun restrictions; bans on employment and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; an easing of abortion restrictions; and no-excuse absentee voting. Mr. Northam, who succeeded Mr. McAuliffe as governor, wasn’t eligible to seek re-election because Virginia governors are barred from serving consecutive four-year terms. All 100 House seats were also on the ballot in Tuesday’s election. No Senate seats were up for grabs. Virginia last year loosened its election rules to give any voter the option to vote by absentee ballot without needing a particular reason to qualify, and the state offered early voting on Sunday this year for the first time. More than 1.1 million voters cast their ballots early, whether in person or by mail, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. On Tuesday, voters trickled into a polling location at the Fairfax County Government Center. Manju Mallin, 62, said she voted for Mr. Youngkin mainly because of his view on schools. She said she didn’t think critical race theory should be taught in schools, and Mr. Youngkin has said he would ban it. Many education officials in Virginia have said their schools don’t teach critical race theory, which is an academic legal theory, and instead say they are teaching about diversity and the history of minority communities. “Parents are not being heard,” said Ms. Mallin, who is retired but works part time in sales for an insurance company. She said she voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 but also voted for Democrats in the past. Mandeep Kaur, 25, who works in human resources, said she voted for Mr. McAuliffe because she believed he would protect abortion rights and support immigration, among other issues. “We saw what happened in Texas with abortion,” said Ms. Kaur, who said she became a citizen last year after immigrating from India. “I think women should have the choice.” Write to Scott Calvert at and Alexa Corse at FAIRFAX, Va.—Republican Glenn Youngkin held a narrow lead late Tuesday in the Virginia governor’s race, which is being closely watched as a gauge of the national political mood. Polls had shown former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, a former private-equity executive, running neck-and-neck to succeed Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Virginia governors are barred from serving consecutive four-year terms.
No Republican has won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009, and the election will test Democrats’ staying power after years of electoral gains. Republicans, meanwhile, hope to reverse losses in the vote-rich suburbs during former President Donald Trump’s tenure. President Biden, a Democrat, won Virginia by 10 percentage points over Mr. Trump last year, but his approval ratings have dipped to the low-40% range, making him a potential drag on Mr. McAuliffe. In addition, the state’s off-year gubernatorial contest has historically favored the opposition party of the sitting president, with Mr. McAuliffe’s 2013 victory being the only recent exception. Mr. Biden, speaking to reporters in Glasgow on Tuesday, acknowledged that the race was close but said he thought Mr. McAuliffe would win. “I don’t believe and I’ve not seen any evidence that whether or not I’m doing well or poorly, or whether or not I’ve got my agenda passed or not, is going to have any real impact on winning or losing,” Mr. Biden said. Mr. McAuliffe, 64 years old, has consistently sought to tie Mr. Youngkin to Mr. Trump, a fellow Republican. Mr. Youngkin, 54, a former Carlyle Group co-chief executive and political newcomer, accepted Mr. Trump’s endorsement but hasn’t campaigned with him.
The former president praised Mr. Youngkin in a telephone rally late Monday, the Associated Press reported. “Tomorrow I’d like to ask everyone to get out and vote for Glenn Youngkin,” Mr. Trump told an invited group of supporters by phone. “He’s a fantastic guy.” Virginia election officials said turnout was high. More than 3 million voters were reported late Tuesday, with votes still being counted. About 2.6 million Virginians voted in the last gubernatorial election in 2017, state election figures show. More than 2.2 million Virginians voted in the 2013 governor’s race. Voters who cast ballots in this election identified slightly more as Republicans than Democrats, 48% to 44%, according to preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a large survey of the Virginia electorate. If the finding holds, it would mark a change from the 2020 presidential election, in which VoteCast found the electorate to lean Democratic by 4 percentage points. The shift could indicate that Mr. Youngkin did a better job this year in motivating his party’s core voters than did Mr. McAuliffe. About two-thirds of voters in the survey said the country was headed in the wrong direction, while about one-third said it was on the right track. By a large margin, voters named the economy as the top issue facing the state, with smaller shares citing the coronavirus pandemic, education and other issues.
Nationally resonant issues such as abortion and vaccine mandates have permeated the race. Mr. McAuliffe, governor from 2014 to 2018, says he would defend women’s access to abortion. Mr. Youngkin has indicated he would endorse new limits on abortion, though he has said he supports exceptions for rape, incest or to save a woman’s life. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a Texas law known as SB 8 or the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans many abortions. Both candidates have urged people to get Covid-19 vaccinations. Mr. McAuliffe has embraced mandates for some groups, like schoolchildren who are eligible to be vaccinated, saying such requirements are needed to help Virginia move past the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Youngkin says it should be a personal choice. Virginia last year loosened its election rules to give any voter the option to vote by absentee ballot without needing a particular reason to qualify, and the state offered early voting on Sunday this year for the first time. More than 1.1 million voters have cast their ballots early, whether in person or by mail, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. About 2.6 million Virginians voted in the last gubernatorial election in 2017, state election figures show. Voting went largely smoothly on Tuesday, state elections Commissioner Chris Piper said at an evening news conference. There were some minor issues, Mr. Piper said, including one polling location that opened 10 minutes late, complaints about some voting machines getting jammed, and some precincts that ran out of ballots but then were supplied with more. Speaking to reporters shortly after polls closed, Mr. Piper said he didn’t want to make predictions about turnout. “But the fact of the matter is that we have…we’ve seen heavy turnout,” he added.
Both gubernatorial campaigns have legal teams on standby to handle any election issues. Mr. Youngkin has nodded to Mr. Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 election was stolen without embracing them. He has said that President Biden legitimately won the election, that election integrity should be a priority, and that Virginia should audit its voting machines, which the state already does. Mr. Youngkin has said he believes Virginia will have a fair election. Early Tuesday, voters trickled into a polling location at the Fairfax County Government Center. Activists from both parties said the site had been much busier during early voting. Manju Mallin, 62, said she voted for Mr. Youngkin mainly because of his view on schools. She said she didn’t think critical race theory should be taught in schools, and Mr. Youngkin has said he would ban it. Many education officials in Virginia have said their schools don’t teach critical race theory, which is an academic legal theory, and instead say they are teaching about diversity and the history of minority communities. “Parents are not being heard,” said Ms. Mallin, who is retired but works part time in sales for an insurance company. She said she voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 but also voted for Democrats in the past.
‘I think that the Republicans are still too entrapped by Donald Trump and his ideals,’ said Charles Armstead, who said he voted for Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Photo: Alexa Corse/The Wall Street Journal
Valerie Register (in a photo from last month) said she had voted for Republican Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday in part because she shared his antiabortion views. Photo: Carlos Bernate for The Wall Street Journal
Mandeep Kaur, 25, who works in human resources, said she voted for Mr. McAuliffe because she believed he would protect abortion rights and support immigration, among other issues. “We saw what happened in Texas with abortion,” said Ms. Kaur, who said she became a citizen last year after immigrating from India. “I think women should have the choice.” Charles Armstead, 73, said he voted for Mr. McAuliffe. “I think that the Republicans are still too entrapped by Donald Trump and his ideals,” said Mr. Armstead, who said he is an independent voter and a Defense Department consultant and retired Air Force officer. He said he worried that Republicans would restrict voting rights. In Virginia Beach, Valerie Register said she voted Tuesday morning for Mr. Youngkin on her way back from the gym. The 53-year-old software developer said she shared his antiabortion views. She also said she thought he would roll back what she sees as growing government interference in areas such as gun ownership and Covid-19 vaccination decisions. “It seems like we’re headed down the wrong road where they’re trying to push into more and more government control. By voting for Youngkin, I believe we’re trying to pull back on that,” she said. Voters in New Jersey also voted for a governor Tuesday. Late Tuesday night, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was narrowly behind Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman. The candidates have clashed over fiscal issues as well as Mr. Murphy’s requirement for students to wear masks in schools. Three nonpartisan surveys released in the past week showed Mr. Murphy leading by roughly 10 points over Mr. Ciattarelli. Virginia Democrats are also vying to retain control of the state’s house of delegates. In 2019, Democrats gained majorities in both the House and state Senate, giving them a trifecta, with Mr. Northam already in the governor’s office. Democrats hold a 55-45 advantage in the House, and all 100 seats are up for election. None of the 40 Senate seats are on the ballot. Across the U.S., there are 23 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 12 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control, according to election-data website Ballotpedia. As Election Day neared, Republican voters in Virginia appeared more excited than Democrats, according to a poll released last week by Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Civic Leadership. It found 80% of Republican likely voters said they were very enthusiastic, compared with 65% of Democrats. That “enthusiasm advantage” has grown since its Oct. 8 survey, the center said. The poll found that independent voters favor Mr. Youngkin over Mr. McAuliffe 51% to 44%. For Mr. Youngkin, key sources of support are white voters, men and residents of Virginia’s southern and southwestern areas, the poll found, whereas Mr. McAuliffe’s support is strongest among Black voters, women and Northern Virginia residents. —Chad Day, Jimmy Vielkind and Andrew Restuccia contributed to this article. Write to Scott Calvert at and Alexa Corse at |
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