On Tuesday, Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) trounced Republican Ed Gillespie by a wide 9-point margin, bringing a lot of Democrats along with him on his coattails. On Wednesday's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough was surprised. "Everybody on both sides of the aisles said this guy ran one of the worst closing campaigns they had seen in recent memory, and yet Virginia voters stood in the rain, they stood in long lines," he said.
"I do believe that next year may be the year of 'women voters and women candidates,' because I heard stories of women standing in the rain in Northern Virginia in long lines, and they weren't going to move until they got their vote against Donald Trump," Scarborough added. He said he still doesn't believe the 2016 election was about Trump as much as it was about Hillary Clinton, and by the same light, "last night wasn't so much about Ralph Northam as it was voters — Republicans, moderates, Democrats, and women — sending a message to Donald Trump."
It should be noted that on Monday, nobody on the Morning Joe panel of pundits thought Northam would beat Gillespie. So even if female voters standing in the rain outside D.C. were a strong data point for the 2018 midterms, rather than a bit of interesting anecdotal evidence, you should probably wait a few months before hitting the Vegas bookies with a wager on "women voters and women candidates in 2018." Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Crossword: October 5, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
