CBS News projected that Republican Glenn Youngkin had won Virginia, a state President Biden won by 10 points.
In New Jersey, there were still a number of Democratic counties that had not reported their results as of 11:30 p.m., but incumbent Governor Phil Murphy had yet not locked down what was expected to be a relatively easy win.
McAuliffe campaigned on national issues, on abortion and voting rights, while Republican Glenn Youngkin zeroed in on local issues, hitting McAuliffe hard on education and the economy.
Exit polls indicated that just over half of voters said parents should have “a lot” of say in what is taught in their child’s school. In the final weeks of the campaign,Youngkin capitalized on McAuliffe’s response during a debate to an argument about whether parents be able to opt their children out of reading certain books if they disapprove of the content. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” McAuliffe said. Youngkin quoted McAuliffe over and over on the campaign trail and in ads. It resonated with Youngkin’s supporters — 8 in 10 think they should have “a lot” of say. Only a quarter of McAuliffe voters said that. Pre-election polls found this issue had energized many Republicans. Slightly more Youngkin voters select education as their top issue compared to McAuliffe backers.
Democrats could at least count victories in heavily blue New York City and Boston, although a Democrat had been guaranteed to win in Boston since both candidates on the ballot were Democrats. The Associated Press projected Michelle Wu won in Boston, making her the first Asian American and the first woman to lead the city. In New York City, Democrat Eric Adams gave a heartfelt victory speech, proclaiming “I am you” as he said “I want you to believe again. Let’s bring this city back.”
In Minneapolis, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have dismantled the police department and created a new Department of Public Safety. In the city’s mayoral race, embattled incumbent Jacob Frey led in the first round of ranked-choice voting, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.
In Buffalo, incumbent Mayor Byron Brown, who lost the Democratic primary in June to Democratic Socialist India Walton, had run a write-in campaign against Walton. A poll last week by CBS Buffalo affiliate WIVB had Brown leading by 17 points, and he appeared to be leading by 10,000 votes as of Tuesday night, according to WIVB.
“The people chose four more years,” he said, although Walton said her speech was “definitely not a concession speech.”
Clare Hymes, Adam Brewster and Aaron Navarro contributed reporting.
