In a historic first, Virginia will elect the first woman of color for lieutenant governor. Delegate Elizabeth Guzman said she was “honored” to be able to break barriers in her state and lead by example as an immigrant with limited English skills.
The “virginia lieutenant governor candidates 2021” is the first time in Virginia that a woman of color will be elected as Lieutenant Governor.
On Saturday, October 30, voters cast votes at an early voting site in Fairfax, Virginia. (Bloomberg/Getty Images/Eric Lee) )
On Saturday, October 30, voters cast votes at an early voting site in Fairfax, Virginia. (Bloomberg/Getty Images/Eric Lee) )Even though former President Trump is not on the ballot, Democrats will use Terry McAuliffe’s victory as proof that a state that has trended blue over the previous decade still supports President Biden’s program and opposes Republicans.
Democrats do not have the benefit of history on their side: Since the 1970s, the winner of Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial election has almost always been from the opposing political party. The last time this happened occurred in 2013, when McAuliffe was elected governor a year after President Barack Obama was re-elected.
Even if McAuliffe wins a close contest, the outcome might be a red flag for Democrats in Washington, considering Biden’s 10-point victory there only a year ago and the reality that the party in power often loses seats in following midterm elections.
Democrats believed McAuliffe would be able to run on a successfully enacted infrastructure plan from the Biden administration, but continued delays on Capitol Hill and Democratic infighting rendered an agreement before Nov. 2 impossible, a point McAuliffe has stressed in his campaign.
He remarked earlier this month, “I say: Do your job.” “You were elected to the House of Representatives. We in the states are in serious need of this money for infrastructure…. We need assistance in the United States, and you were elected to fulfill your job.”
While he has publicly maintained that the law is more vital for the people of Virginia than for his political fortunes, his aides and advisors secretly worry that the turmoil in Washington may flow over into their campaign, particularly in the heavily populated Northern Virginia suburbs.
A victory for Glenn Youngkin would send shockwaves well beyond Virginia, where a Republican hasn’t won a statewide election in 12 years, and give the GOP a boost moving into 2022. But each campaign is different, and Youngkin, who entered the race as a virtually blank slate with unrestricted funds, is a one-of-a-kind character, a victory would vindicate his approach of praising Trump while keeping him at arm’s length at other times.
“Regardless of whether he wins or loses, it seems that Youngkin is demonstrating to Republicans that they don’t have to be wed to Trump,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist who formerly worked as the Republican National Committee’s senior spokeswoman. “Sure, they don’t want to alienate his fan following by crossing him. Republicans can play on the Democrats’ field, particularly given Biden’s poor poll ratings and McAuliffe’s weaknesses on issues like education. That’s the first step toward putting Trump in his place.”
While some Republicans are skeptical that the plan would succeed in federal elections, Heye claims that since “all politics is now global,” topics that were formerly hyper-local “will be discussed up and down the ballot.”
After the Democratic-led state modified election regulations, voters will have the ability to cast their votes early for the first time without an excuse in the 2021 elections. More than 734,000 Virginians have already voted, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
Conversations with supporters of McAuliffe and Youngkin have shown a resemblance in their approaches to the race: both are concerned that if their opponents win, Virginia would become a very different state. Democrats have frequently warned CNN that a Youngkin victory would convert Virginia into a Republican-dominated state similar to Georgia, Texas, or Florida, while Republicans have expressed concern that a McAuliffe victory would turn Virginia like California.
“We’re going to continue down the route we’re already on with Biden,” Wanda Schweiger, a 61-year-old Youngkin supporter, said if McAuliffe wins. “It’s also a sinking ship.”
Over the weekend, Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights champion, made that point directly to voters.
“Pick up a newspaper about Georgia if you want to see what may happen if you don’t vote. Looking at what’s going on in Texas, you can see what will happen in nine days if we don’t come out and vote “she said “Remember how you felt in November of 2016, if you want to know what happens to Virginia if we don’t vote, if you don’t come out on November 2nd.”
Virginia will elect a woman of color for the first time as lieutenant governor. The winner, “virginia lieutenant governor winsome sears,” is a progressive Democrat who ran on a platform that includes reforming the state’s tax code and campaign finance laws.
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