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In reply to the discussion: Dear Moderates: The Left Isn't Why McAuliffe Lost Virginia [View all]onenote
(42,698 posts)than McAuliffe.
McAuliffe has never generated a lot of enthusiasm among Virginia voters (he won in 2013 with less than 48 percent of the vote). Independents and suburban Republicans abandoned Republican candidates in recent years because the Republicans nominated far right types like Corey Stewart and Ken Cuccinelli and picked issues like confederate statues to emphasize. The establishment republican figured that out and made sure that the darling of the far right in Virginia, Amanda ("Trump in Heels" ) Chase was prevented from getting the nomination. She might have run third party (and opened the door for a McAuliffe victory) but she stayed out and played a role of outreach to the Trumpers, allowing Youngkin to maintain a semblance of distance. All of which made the independents and suburbanites more comfortable with a candidate who focused on local issues like education and taxes.
McAuliffe ran a lousy campaign. He put himself on the defensive with his parents/schools comment. And he simply ignored the progress that Virginia has made in the past several years of Democratic control: moving up to 7th in the US News ranking of the best states; achieving far lower COVID deaths per capita compared to states with Republican governors like DeSntis and Abbott. Not a word about that -- leaving the field open for Youngkin to portray the state as being in crisis.