In the Virginia race for governor, exit polls showed a big shift among White women voters, a group that made up more than a third of the state’s electorate. In 2020, they roughly split their votes for president, but this year, they backed the Republican candidate for governor by 14 […] Read more »
McAuliffe’s quote on schools was a clunker, but polls suggest parental backlash didn’t swing the election
Education became a surprisingly important factor in the final month of Virginia’s election for governor, with Republican Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin successfully hammering Democrat Terry McAuliffe for saying during a debate, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” McAuliffe made the statement when he explained why […] Read more »
Virginia and New Jersey Elections in National Context
Elections for state offices reflect state-specific issues, the personalities and backstories of the candidates running for office, and the dynamics of the campaigns. State elections can also reflect trends and circumstances occurring at the national level. This last point is important, given the tendency of many observers to use the […] Read more »
Polls, Politics, and the 2021 Virginia and New Jersey Elections
Two notable things happened in the recent 2021 elections. First, there was a Republican swing in New Jersey, Virginia, and elsewhere. Second, the polls were off in New Jersey, with the Democrat receiving only about 51% of the two-party vote, after being at about 54% in the polls. A three […] Read more »
The Powerful G.O.P. Strategy Democrats Must Counter if They Want to Win
The Virginia election results should shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics. No candidate would think of entering an election without a winning message on the economy or health care. Yet by failing to counter his opponent’s racial dog whistles, Terry McAuliffe […] Read more »
Lessons from the Virginia governor’s race: Make your best case
Exit political stage, heading to the right. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Mary Kate Cary, University of Virginia I teach political speech writing. My students know that earlier this year I served on a committee that wrote the University of Virginia’s statement on free speech and free inquiry, which stated that “All […] Read more »