Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin notably improved the GOP’s standing with younger voters, moderates, independents and White women since the last gubernatorial election in 2017.
Youngkin’s inroads among these swing voters, seen in an analysis of CNN’s exit polls from 2017 and 2021, made him the first Republican to win in a statewide race in Virginia since 2009 and provides a playbook for other Republican candidates for the 2022 midterms. It also sends a clear message to Democrats that voters expect them to deliver on their promises of passing monumental legislation and containing the Covid-19 pandemic and that it’s no longer enough to campaign against former President Donald Trump, Virginia political analysts told CNN. CONTINUED
Christopher Hickey & Nicki Camberg, CNN
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