US state of Virginia to elect new governor in test for Democrats

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - All eyes are on the US state of Virginia as it prepares to elect its next governor in an unexpectedly tight race that is pitting Democratic former Gov. Terry McAullife against a political ally of former President Donald Trump.

Virginia has shifted progressively Democratic in recent years, with Trump losing the southern state by some 10 percentage points in 2020. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate, has had to walk a political tightrope in both standing in lockstep with the former president on parts of his agenda while attempting to maintain political space as McAullife seeks to paint him as a Trump acolyte.

That has not stopped Trump from attempting to make the race a referendum on him and his brand of politics that has come to dominate the Republican Party.

"We get along very well together and strongly believe in many of the same policies," Trump, who previously endorsed Youngkin, said in a statement on Monday with polls set to open in less than a day. "Get out and vote for a man who will be a great governor, Glenn Youngkin!"

Youngkin has sought to make the race about education amid parents' frustration over pandemic-era policies, and has sought to ban discussions of race in the classroom centered on what is known as critical race theory.

Few predicted the election would be so tight in what has become a relatively safe state for Democrats, but with US President Joe Biden's approval ratings nosediving amid a lack of legislative action on some of his most popular policy proposals, Democrats have found themselves on the back foot.

An average of polling compiled by the FiveThirtyEight website has Youngkin ahead of McAullife by a razor-thin 0.9 percentage points, and momentum has been trending in the Republican's favor since October.

McAullife once held a comfortable, if not secure, five point advantage that has apparently evaporated amid congressional deadlock on Biden's agenda that has put Youngkin within striking distance of the governor's mansion.

The increasingly tight competition has led both Biden and former President Barack Obama to take to the campaign trail for McAullife as Democrats grow anxious that the Virginia race could prove a bellwether for congressional elections in 2022.

Those races will determine the composure of the federal legislature in the second half of Biden's term. Democrats currently hold a small lead in the House of Representatives, and the Senate is split 50-50 with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holding a tie-breaking vote in the chamber.

Polls will open in Virginia from 6 am. local time to 7 pm. Results are not expected to be fully clarified on Election Day, however, with some forecasting a final picture might not emerge for a couple of days after polls close.