Republican Glenn Youngkin was projected to win Virginia’s governor’s race , defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe in an upset certain to have repercussions for Democrats as they look ahead to next year’s midterm elections.In his victory speech, Youngkin vowed to “change the trajectory of this commonwealth” on his first day in office, promising to invest in the education budget, “introduce choice” within the public school system, cut several taxes and fund law enforcement.In New Jersey, Republican Jack Ciattarelli was locked in a close race with Gov.Phil Murphy (D), who had been expected to glide to a second term.The twin performances in the off-year election’s marquee races — the first major test for the party since President Biden’s election — unnerved Democrats who months ago won the White House and control of Congress.In races elsewhere, Minneapolis rejected a measure to revamp its police force , the first major electoral test of reform movement after George Floyd’s murder.City Question 2, as it was known, would have amended the Minneapolis charter to allow the police department to be replaced by a Department of Public Safety overseen by both the mayor and city council.Here’s what to know What happened in New Jersey? A race that got closer in the final weeks, and saw a late $4 million campaign buy from the Republican Governors Association, won’t be over by early Wednesday morning.Both Gov.Phil Murphy (D) and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli addressed supporters after midnight, predicting victory — eventually.“When every vote is counted, we hope to have a celebration,” said Murphy.“I wanted to come out and tell you that we’ve won,” said Ciattarelli, “but I’m here to tell you that we’re winning.”Democrats, including Murphy, said throughout the race that it would be closer than polling suggested, and would take work to turn out their base.Before Murphy took the stage, his campaign was still expecting a single-digit win after mail votes and provisional ballots were counted.But with most votes counted, the Republican trend was hard to miss.
Murphy handily won South Jersey in 2017, carrying not just the Democratic stronghold of Camden but four more suburban counties.
Ciattarelli ended the night with leads in all four, thanks to higher Republican turnout; in both Atlantic and Gloucester counties, Murphy trailed despite running ahead of his 2017 totals.Murphy was running much stronger in Trenton and the suburbs and cities closest to New York City, though Ciattarelli also improved on recent GOP performances there.In Hudson County, which contains Jersey City and Hoboken, Murphy was running just 1,000 votes behind his dominant 2017 performance, but Ciattarelli was running 10,000 votes ahead of the last GOP nominee.According to the Associated Press, nearly 500,000 ballots had yet to be counted by early Wednesday morning.Democrats are counting on those votes to put them ahead, and perhaps rescue some state legislators who trailed Republican candidates on Tuesday.
Key update Republican Glenn Youngkin projected to win Virginia governor’s race Return to menu By Gregory S.Schneider and Laura Vozzella 12:50 a.m.
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RICHMOND — Virginia voters chose Republican Glenn Youngkin as their next governor, according to projections from the Associated Press and Edison Research — a dramatic reversal for a state that had appeared solidly Democratic in recent years and a significant loss for President Biden and the party’s establishment.Former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe came up short in his bid to become only the second Virginia governor since the Civil War to win a second term, with key suburban districts joining rural parts of the state in favoring Youngkin.The victory comes only a year after Biden carried Virginia over Trump by 10 points, a wild swing that casts doubt on Democrats’ agenda in Richmond and Washington alike.
Advertisement Updates continue below advertisement Felicia Moore headed to runoff in Atlanta mayor’s race Return to menu By Felicia Sonmez and Amy B Wang 12:27 a.m.Link copied Link
The Atlanta mayoral contest is headed to a runoff, after no candidate in the crowded race was projected to receive more than 50 percent of the vote, the Associated Press projects.Felicia Moore, the president of the City Council, will head to the Nov.30 runoff, the AP projects.The next two finishers — former mayor Kasim Reed and City Council member Andre Dickens — remained too close to call.The current mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, decided not to seek reelection.
Fourteen candidates competed in the mayoral race, which has become a referendum on who can best manage a city that appears at political and cultural crossroads as its non-Black population has soared over the past decade.The campaign was dominated by debate over how to reduce the city’s rising homicide rate amid an exodus of officers from its police force.Both Reed and Moore pledged to quickly hire additional officers.Reed won the support of the city police union but was hobbled by questions about ethics amid a federal investigation into city government during his time as mayor.Several younger Black candidates emphasized that the city needed a new generation of leaders to combat challenges.
Democrat Aftab Pureval is projected to win the mayoral race in Cincinnati, according to the Associated Press, becoming the first Asian American mayor in the city’s history.“Words can’t express how honored and excited I am to be the next Mayor of Cincinnati.Tonight, we made history! Let’s get to work!” Pureval, who is the son of Indian and Tibetan immigrants, tweeted Tuesday night.The 39-year-old Pureval, a lawyer who currently serves as the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, defeated 82-year-old David Mann, a city council member who was mayor of Cincinnati in the early 1980s and in 1991.Pureval ran on rebuilding the city’s economy in an equitable manner after the coronavirus pandemic, reforming the local police department and expanding 911 services to cover more types of crisis response and investing in affordable housing.
Chris Piper, the state elections commissioner in Virginia, praised the work of election officials, saying it was “an overwhelmingly good day” with only a few problems reported.“The election today was about as smooth as we could have asked for,” Piper said at a news conference Tuesday night.There were ballot shortages in some counties, he said, but those counties received supplemental ballots and voting was able to continue.He described the overall turnout as “heavy” and said there was “great interest” in the election, although he said he could not yet provide an overall figure.“I couldn’t be prouder to stand with the election officials of Virginia tonight,” he said.“We have been working for months to prepare for this election, and we are proud of the work we have done.”Piper said the process was one in which all Virginians should have confidence, citing the transparency of election officials and promising that every vote would be counted.He said he wanted to reiterate that results counted on Election Day are unofficial.Absentee ballots postmarked before or on Election Day, he said, will be counted until noon Friday.
He said there are about 88,000 absentee ballots that have not yet been returned.Local officials from both parties will meet Wednesday to begin the canvassing process, he said, which means they will review precinct results and “check, recheck and then check again” that they are accurate.
Key update Boston projected to elect Michelle Wu as first Asian American mayor in the city’s history Return to menu By Joanna Slater , Tim Craig and Amy B Wang 11:10 p.m.Link copied Link
Boston is projected to elect Democrat Michelle Wu as the first Asian American mayor in the city’s history, the Associated Press projects.Wu, 36, has served on the Boston City Council since 2014 and was president of the council from 2016 to 2018.She defeated fellow Democrat Annissa Essaibi George, 47, an at-large member of the council, in the mayoral runoff after the Sept.14 primary.
Essaibi George conceded Tuesday night.Wu will replace acting mayor Kim Janey, who filled the post when Marty Walsh joined the Biden administration as labor secretary.Janey was the first person of color and woman to serve as mayor, but Wu is the first to be elected.The campaign largely focused on spiraling housing costs, education and the city’s opioid crisis.But the race also highlighted the city’s growing diversity because for the first time in 200 years, Boston was poised to elect someone other than a White man as mayor.Wu, a liberal Democrat in the mold of her self-described mentor, Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), was heavily favored to win the contest.She has called for free public transportation, a citywide “Green New Deal” to combat climate change, and rent control to rein in the soaring cost of housing.In a victory speech to supporters Tuesday night, Wu — who took the stage to BTS’s “Dynamite” — said their movement did not end here.“We have a lot of work to do,” Wu said, vowing to work closely with Janey’s team during the transition.
“We’re not going to get this done by sitting in the corner office at City Hall, but by bringing City Hall to every block in this city.”
Democrat Terry McAuliffe addressed supporters at his campaign’s watch party Tuesday night, telling them he was waiting for all the returns to be counted, even with Republican Glenn Youngkin leading in the vote count.Shortly before 10:30 p.m., McAuliffe arrived at the hotel and took the stage to assure supporters that the race was not yet over.“So we’ve still got a lot of votes to count.We got about 18 percent of the vote out,” McAuliffe said.“So we’re going to continue to count the votes, because every single Virginian deserves to have their vote counted.”McAuliffe noted he had begun his campaign 328 days ago and since done seven to 10 events per day.
He also said Virginia is “a different state” than it was eight years ago, and emphasized it was important to protect abortion rights, affordable health care and education in the state.“We have made our state open and welcoming.
But the fight continues,” McAuliffe said.After thanking his family and staff for running such a competitive campaign, music returned to blaring over the speakers and McAuliffe joined the crowd, greeting supporters and stopping for photos.“I want to thank you,” McAuliffe said to the crowd.“The McAuliffe family loves each and every one of you.”Around 10 p.m., with about 80 percent of the vote in, the crowd in the ballroom had begun to slightly thin out.But Hugo Ballon, 25, was still optimistic about McAuliffe’s chances.As a Fairfax County resident, he said he thought that the outstanding ballots from the county, where McAuliffe was already leading, could help pull the Democrat up.“I’m a little nervous,” Ballon said, glancing up at the results displayed on a TV screen.
“I don’t know — 81 percent, though, it’s scary.”
As polls showed Republican Glenn Youngkin leading in Virginia, the crowd was buzzing at his campaign watch party at the Westfields Marriott hotel in Chantilly.Wine glasses in one hand and bags of popcorn in the other, supporters crowded into the ballroom as Fox News played from the TV screens around 10 p.m.Except for the hotel waitstaff, there was nary a mask in sight.A band of about six women wore sparkly sequined blazers over blue shirts that said “Fight for Schools,” the name of their Loudoun County parents’ group.Ronda Nassib, 49, said they amounted to an “army of moms” who had come together last year in response to the Loudoun County School Board.Earlier on Election Day, Nassib had collected petition signatures to recall a school board member before heading to her precinct in Ashburn to serve as an elections officer.“I’m a pissed-off parent that believes that I have the right to a voice in my child’s education,” she said.“I’m not willing to take a step back.”Although she was disappointed that Fairfax was late to report its returns, she said she was getting ready to celebrate a Youngkin victory.Attendee Katy Wilson, a Virginia Beach homemaker, said she had never been to an election night party before Tuesday.That came hours after she worked as a poll watcher for Youngkin, something else she’d never been inspired to do before the Republican’s campaign sparked her interest.She’d long leaned Republican but had mixed feelings about Donald Trump.“Trump did a lot of great things,” she said, but she found him to be “a tough candidate to be 100 percent behind.”She said she agreed with Youngkin’s policies but also thought he had “incredible integrity.”
Glenn Youngkin had more support in Virginia than former president Donald Trump among both men and women by significant margins: The Republican gubernatorial nominee’s support was double digits ahead of Trump’s 2020 support among men, and he lost female voters by only a single-digit margin, compared with Trump’s 23-point deficit among women.Youngkin outpaced Trump among all age groups younger than 65 — and even among seniors, Youngkin matched Trump’s support in Virginia in 2020.Among Virginia voters under age 30, a third supported Trump in 2020, while almost half supported Youngkin in 2021.
And roughly 6 in 10 voters with some college or less supported Youngkin this year, compared with under half who supported Trump.Youngkin especially shone among White women without college degrees compared with Trump: While 56 percent supported Trump, preliminary exit polls show three-quarters supported Youngkin.The polling was conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool, The Washington Post and other media organizations.
Over 8 in 10 Virginia voters said parents should have “some” or “a lot” of say in what is taught in public schools, and these voters supported Youngkin by a 10-point margin, according to early network exit polling.Among the roughly half of voters who said parents should have “a lot” of say, Youngin had support over McAuliffe by about a 3-to-1 margin.Although McAuliffe had the support of nearly 9 in 10 voters who said parents should have “not much” input or none at all in public schools, they accounted for only 13 percent of voters in the election.Despite Youngkin’s apparent advantage on education issues, parents with children under 18 at home split nearly down the middle between the Republican and McAuliffe, similar to the divide among non-parents.The poll was conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool, The Washington Post and other media organizations.
Republican Mike Carey, a coal industry lobbyist, is projected to win the special election for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, defeating state Rep.Allison Russo (D), according to the Associated Press.Carey was endorsed by former president Donald Trump, who won the district last year by 14 points.The seat was formerly held by Steve Stivers, who resigned in May to become the head of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.Stivers was the former chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.The race was one of two special elections in Ohio on Tuesday.Democrat Shontel Brown, a member of the Cuyahoga County Council, is projected to win the special election for Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, according to the AP.
The Post’s Lenny Bronner and Jeremy Bowers outline the possible path to victory for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin (R).
Minneapolis is projected to reject a measure to revamp the city’s police force, according to the Associated Press.It was the first major electoral test of reform movement after George Floyd’s murder, and had gained attention for its national implications in the debate over policing and racial justice.City Question 2, as it was known, would have amended the Minneapolis charter to allow the police department to be replaced by a Department of Public Safety overseen by both the mayor and city council.
The new department would have taken a “comprehensive public health approach” to safety, including the dispatch of mental health workers to certain calls and more investment in violence prevention efforts.The measure also would have removed decades-old language from the city charter requiring a minimum number of police officers based on its population.If it had passed, the new public safety department “could include” police officers “if necessary” — wording that alarmed some residents even as authors of the measure insisted armed officers wouldn’t disappear entirely because they are mandated by Minnesota law to respond to specific calls.
Democrat Alvin Bragg is projected to win the race for Manhattan district attorney, handily defeating Republican Thomas Kenniff, according to the Associated Press.Bragg, a former New York state chief deputy attorney general, would become the first Black person to hold the office in New York City’s history.Bragg would also assume the reins of the criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into former president Donald Trump and his business dealings.Current district attorney Cyrus R.Vance Jr.
announced in March that he would retire from the office at the end of this year.Vance’s announcement immediately intensified the race to replace him — the Democratic primary ultimately drew eight candidates — and left questions about the future of the investigation of Trump.Since 2018, Vance’s office has been investigating potential financial crimes and tax fraud at the Trump Organization, including whether the company manipulated property values of certain assets to gain tax advantages..