RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin were locked in a tight race for Virginia governor Tuesday night, the most closely watched contest in an off-year el…
By WILL WEISSERT and SARAH RANKIN RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin were locked in a tight race for Virginia governor Tuesday night, the most closely watched contest in an off-year election that could prove a referendum on President Joe Biden’s first year in office. The race was too early to call. The early results were a stark departure from 12 months ago, when Biden captured the state by 10 points. Instead, McAuliffe, a prominent figure in Democratic politics and a former Virginia governor, was straining in a close race with former business executive Youngkin as he tried to reclaim the post. The bruising campaign centered on issues including Youngkin’s ties to former President Donald Trump, abortion rights and culture war battles over schools. But voters saw the economy as the top issue, followed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of statewide voters. Some 34% of Virginia voters ranked the economy as their No.1 priority, compared to 17% saying COVID-19 and 14% choosing education. Those issues outranked health care, climate change, racism and abortion in the survey. The final results, though, may ultimately be interpreted as an early judgment of Biden. The closeness of the race indicated just how much his political fortunes have changed in a short period. The White House has been shaken in recent months by the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, a sometimes sluggish economic recovery amid the pandemic and a legislative agenda at risk of stalling on Capitol Hill. A loss in a state that has trended toward Democrats for more than a decade would deepen the sense of alarm inside the party heading into next year’s midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. But Biden expressed optimism going into the evening while acknowledging that “the off-year is always unpredictable.” “I think we’re going to win in Virginia,” Biden said at a news conference in Scotland, where he was attending an international climate summit.
