On Tuesday, Democrats from sea to shining sea got routed in pretty hilarious fashion. Republicans swept the statewide offices in Virginia while also taking back the House of Delegates. Republicans made gains in New Jersey. And Republicans won a number of local elections in a number of states throughout the country ranging from Washington to New York. It was a sight to behold. We’re going to get into all of this below, so saddle up and enjoy the brutal devastation that was the Democrats’ hopes and dreams.
Let’s start with Virginia, since it was the most closely watched. Republican Glenn Youngkin bested Democrat Terry McAuliffe for governor by roughly 2% which was a 12% swing from 2020. By doing so, Republicans managed to flip the Lt. Governorship and the Attorney General seats along with 7 State House seats giving Republicans the majority once again. Youngkin won his race by about 73,000 votes (This could change as there are still about 50 precincts that need to be counted), and according to exit polling, he got about 77,000 Joe Biden voters to vote for him. These voters more than likely disproportionately were from the suburbs based on the 14-15% swings in the Northern Virginian suburbs. Persuasion politics does work, and Youngkin and the rest of the Virginia GOP took advantage of it. It is worth noting that Republicans elected the first black woman to the Lt. Governors seat along with the first Cuban American Attorney General. The Republican Party put together a ticket that looked like America and won in a state that resembles America’s political leanings well.
Then we have New Jersey. Republicans did not win the New Jersey Governorship, but they came extraordinarily close. The polls had incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy up abut 7-8% which was already 8% closer than 2020, but Murphy only ended up winning by about 2%. That’s a 14% swing away from Democrats in a year. If we apply that nationwide in 2022, Democrats would lose upwards of 40 House seats and would almost assuredly lose the Senate. But that isn’t even the best part of the New Jersey elections. The best part is political novice Edward Durr beat the State Senate President, a Democrat, while only spending $153 with $67 of that being spent on Dunkin Donuts for his staff. He basically just put his name on the ballot and beat the highest ranking Democrat in the State Senate. That is 1) hilarious and 2) terrible news for Democrats because it means voters are rejecting them en masse and Democrats are not energized at all to come out and vote. This should be expected when gas is approaching $4 a gallon nationwide!
Next we have New York. Republicans got drummed in the NYC mayoral election, but they did well outside 5 Burroughs. On Long Island for instance, Republicans picked up a number of municipal and county seats where Democrats had been successful just 4 years earlier. And thanks to Republican assistance, a more moderate Democrat beat a socialist to be mayor of Buffalo by about 20 points. Republicans may not be able to win statewide in New York next year, but if Democrats continue to be unpopular and Republicans run a really strong candidate, it could be close. Lee Zeldin, a Republican Representative from Suffolk County who is running for governor in 2022, could be a fairly strong candidate. If Democrats think they might be in danger of losing the governorship in New York, they will be forced to spend money there as opposed to more battleground type states. If Democrats have to play defense in extremely blue areas, Republicans will have a field day in the battleground states.
In Seattle, Washington, Republicans won the city attorney seat over a Democrat that wanted to abolish the police by about 20%. Seattle is one of the bluest cities in the country, yet progressivism is so toxic that even Democrats have a tipping point at which they are willing to vote for a Republican.
Pennsylvania??? The counting got messed up in Pennsylvania, so I am not entirely sure how well Republicans will do in the end, so I will wait to cast my judgement.
I’ll end with Minneapolis since it had the most ironic election. Minneapolis was the epicenter of the rioting and the “defund the police” movement in 2020, but on Tuesday, they voted 59-41 to not abolish the police. Even the home of ultra-progressive, Ilhan Omar, can be reasoned with once carjackings have increased by 500% over the past 12 months. Overall Tuesday was a bad night for progressives and a bad night for Democrats, which means it was a great night for America!