McAuliffe’s blowout win crowned a disappointing primary for some progressives in the state who eager to nominate a black woman out of the area. Both the earlier Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy of the State as well as Senator Jennifer McClellan couldn’t stand out from the rest of the pack, which includes the current Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Del. Lee Carter belonged.
Some Democrats in the state were concerned about the seemingly low turnout in the primary elections – “there are more cicadas than voters,” quipped a gubernatorial aide – though this comes with the caveat that this is the first election under new state law that provided for a month and a half early voting.
For his part, McAuliffe exuded confidence in the final days of the primaries and stormed the state with supporters and Post videos of him dancing on Twitter. He had already paid a lot of attention to Youngkin, calling him an “extremist” and focusing on him in donation emails to his supporters (two current subject lines: “Everyone is watching” and “We’re already behind”).
The Democrats are keen to tie Youngkin, the relatively little-known ex-private equity manager, to Trump, the Youngkin quickly endorsed it after a painful nomination process in which Republicans fought fiercely over both the process itself and the field of candidates.
Virginia has long been a political leader in new presidential administrations and often swings against the party that won the previous year. But during Trump’s tenure in the White House, the state quickly abandoned Republicans. It started as now-gov. Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie in the 2017 gubernatorial competition, clearly exceeding expectations at the time and never really easing off.
In the 2018 mid-term election, the Democrats ousted a trio of GOP members of Congress, while Democratic Senator Tim Kaine overturned a Trump-affiliated challenger. And the Democrats flipped the state’s legislature in 2019, giving them full control of Richmond for the first time in decades.
Republicans have argued that 2021 will be different as they build on an inflamed base in rural parts of the state and Youngkin will be able to recapture suburban support that has slipped away from the party over the past four years. Youngkin has also poured approximately $ 12 million of his personal fortune into his campaign so far, which gives him resources to compete with the infamous fundraiser in McAuliffe, should he win.
Youngkin greeted McAuliffe’s main win with two new ads attacking him, both of which will air on Wednesday. One of the ads uses footage from Carroll Foy attacks McAuliffe during the primary – the ad begins with her statement “Terry McAuliffe is not inspirational” – during a second lets Youngkin speak of changing the direction of Richmond, but does not mention McAuliffe by name.
In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Attorney General Mark Herring faced a challenge from Del State. Jay Jones, two years after a blackface scandal destroyed Herring’s ambitions to run for governor and could have ended his political career.
The lieutenant governor’s area code was a chaotic field with no clear front runner. The seat is open and Fairfax – who has denied sexual assault allegations that derailed its gubernatorial campaign – is seeking higher office.
Further up the east coast, New Jersey Republicans are selecting their candidate for Democratic governor Phil Murphy, who has faced only symbolic opposition in his own primaries.
Businessman Jack Ciattarelli is the alleged leader in a Trumpified GOP area code Ciattarelli sees that – who has tried to create a certain distance from Trump, although he has not disavowed him in a state that the former president has resoundingly lost – against two self-confessed Trump supporters in long-term candidate Hirsh Singh and Baptist minister Phil Rizzo.
A current poll by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University found that Murphy led Ciattarelli by 52 to 26 percent in a theoretical head-to-head race.
