It seems like everybody has a theory for Glenn Youngkin’s big win in Virginia last week. Why and how did he win? Who deserves the credit or the blame for the Democrats’ losses? Many of the explanations, whether from politicians, cable news pundits, consultants or columnists, seem to reflect their […] Read more »
Virginia: What was behind the shift of White women toward the GOP?
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 »
Exit polls from 2017 and 2021 show the key groups that helped Youngkin turn Virginia red
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 […] Read more »
Voters don’t care about Donald Trump. They care about Joe Biden’s unpopularity
Democrats had hoped that former President Donald Trump could serve as a boogeyman. They wanted his continuing unpopularity to serve as a call to action to Democrats, even as President Joe Biden himself is unpopular. Tuesday night should serve as a warning that such a strategy doesn’t look like it’ll […] Read more »
Exit poll results from the 2021 election for Virginia governor
Glenn Younkin is projected to defeat Terry McAuliffe in the gubernatorial election, fueled by support from political independents, negative ratings of President Biden and voters focused on the economy and education, according to preliminary exit polls. Democrats and Republicans turned out in similar numbers in the race and each overwhelmingly […] Read more »