Why Virginia’s 2021 elections have national implications

Last week, Glenn Youngkin earned the Republican nomination for this year’s Virginia governor’s race. Virginia, along with New Jersey, hosts the only gubernatorial elections this year. Voters throughout the Old Dominion will also be casting ballots in legislative elections. …

Virginia’s unique in that no person can serve as governor more than one term in a row. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam must step down after this term, meaning the seat is open, and neither Youngkin nor whoever the Democrats choose as their candidate in next month’s primary (probably former Gov. Terry McAuliffe) will have a clear incumbency advantage.

That’s important because governor’s races without incumbents running can, on the whole, tell us a lot about the political environment, if we know how to put them in context. CONTINUED

Harry Enten, CNN


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