What the results of the Virginia race could now mean for Democrats at large

Glenn Youngkin.
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Virginia governor's race wasn't called yet 24 hours ago, but news outlets and strategists alike are already spelling out what Republican Glenn Youngkin's highly-watched win over Democrat Terry McAuliffe means for the fate of Democrats nationwide.

In one example, The Washington Post has posited Youngkin's victory to have cemented the return of Virginia as a swing state. "Virginia was a purple state for quite some time and was always a purple state underneath," Ben Tribbett, a Democratic consultant, told the Post. "But in the Trump era, we became a blue state in reaction to his policies. We will go back to being a swing state going forward." Perhaps a Democratic "safe harbor" no more.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.