On its own, a Republican victory in Virginia’s race for governor would have been enough to lift GOP spirits and put Democrats on edge heading into the 2022 midterm elections.
But the fact that Glenn Youngkin won by keeping former President Donald Trump at a cautious distance, even as Terry McAuliffe and the Democrats presented them as one and the same, also gives party operatives confidence that a post-Trump playbook can work.
In Virginia, Youngkin took a nationalized issue —critical race theory, an academic term that conservative media and activists have used to stoke fears about school curriculum that focuses on institutional racism— and localized it. Parental involvement in education became the core theme of Youngkin’s campaign, especially after a televised debate where McAuliffe asserted that parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach. CONTINUED
Henry J. Gomez & Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News
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