Virginia voters to elect next governor

Democrat Terry McAuliffe has been locked in a tight race with Republican Glenn Youngkin. Both candidates for Virginia’s governor were stumping right up till Election Day, with Youngkin campaigning over the weekend in rural Gate City. He noted many analysts are watching this race as a possible bellwether ahead of next year’s national midterm elections. McAuliffe served as governor from 2014 to 2018. Virginia does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms.

How are things looking? Democrats are scrambling to stave off disaster after public polling has shifted in Youngkin’s direction. McAuliffe still held a slight edge as recently as a week ago, but an average of recent polls now shows Youngkin up by nearly 2 percentage points. Virginia was once a solidly purple state, but Republicans haven’t won a statewide race there since 2009.

Dig deeper: Read Erick Erickson’s take on the Virginia gubernatorial election in WORLD Opinions.