Why Virginia Governor’s Election Matters for All Americans

Vice President Kamala Harris predicted that what happened in Virginia’s gubernatorial election would have significant implications for future elections. 

“Because, you see, what happens in Virginia will in large part determine what happens in 2022, 2024, and on,” Harris said while campaigning for Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe, a former governor seeking a return to office.

On Tuesday night, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated McAuliffe by almost 80,000 votes out of more than 3.25 million ballots cast, a victory margin of about 2.5%. Republicans also recaptured the lieutenant governor’s and state attorney general’s offices.

The results of Virginia’s elections came as a surprise to many on the left, and even on the right. For a while, the state has been trending towards blue. Virginia’s past two governors have been Democrats, and in the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by 10 percentage points in the state.

Education was a major focus of the election. Many believe Youngkin won because of his strong stand on parental rights and keeping critical racial theory and gender identity ideology out schools. 

“Youngkin’s victory shows the lasting power of kitchen-table issues,” Jessica Anderson, Heritage Action for American executive director, said in a statement. 

“When parents see how woke policies hurt their children and their communities, they spring into action, and we saw this first hand in Virginia,” Anderson said. 

Education is a major issue in many states as school districts fight over curriculums and mask mandates. But it remains to be seen whether or not Harris’ prediction is accurate and whether Americans will look back and say, “So went Virginia, so went the nation.” 

On today’s edition of the “Problematic Women” podcast, we break down the implications of the Virginia elections. We also discuss the latest developments in the Loudoun County, Virginia, rape case. We also celebrate the Atlanta Braves winning their World Series title, just months after Major League Baseball moved out of Atlanta the All-Star Game due to an election integrity bill.

And as always, we’ll be crowning our “Problematic Woman of the Week.”

Listen to the podcast.