Republican wins Virginia gubernatorial election

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Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin arrives to speak at an election party early Wednesday in Chantilly, Va. Associated Press/Photo by Andrew Harnik

Republican wins Virginia gubernatorial election

Glenn Youngkin defeated Democratic candidate and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Youngkin held a lead of nearly 3 percentage points in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with about 95 percent of the votes counted. Youngkin will serve as the state’s first Republican governor since 2009. The elections in Virginia and other states mark the first major test of voter stance since Biden took office.

What’s happening in other states? A tight race continues in New Jersey, where incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was trailing GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli by less than 1 point, with 80 percent of the votes counted. Former police captain and Democrat Eric Adams won the race for New York mayor on Tuesday, making him the second black mayor of the nation’s largest city. Voters in Boston elected Democrat Michelle Wu as the city’s first female and Asian American mayor.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in Vitals on the Virginia candidates.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks