Richmond, Va., Nov 2, 2021 / 20:33 pm
Republican Glenn Youngkin has been elected governor of Virginia, Decision Desk HQ first projected about 90 minutes after polls closed in the commonwealth.
Youngkin, a businessman making his first foray into running for office, is the first Republican to be elected governor in Virginia in over a decade. At the time the race was called, Youngkin was leading Democrat Terry McAuliffe by 11 points and nearly 200,000 votes.
McAuliffe previously served as governor of Virginia from 2014 until 2018. Virginia law prohibits consecutive gubernatorial terms, but a former governor may run again for a second non-consecutive term.
The race focused largely on social issues, namely critical race theory, abortion, and coronavirus mitigation strategies in schools. Virginia’s public schools were among the last in the country to re-open to in-person learning following the start of the coronavirus pandemic.