What Went Down During The 2021 Elections

As we’ve discussed, Biden and Trump loomed over this race, and the preliminary exit polls suggest attitudes toward Biden may have been more decisive than those toward Trump. Throughout the campaign, Youngkin tried to walk a tightrope when it came to Trump, despite McAuliffe’s continuous efforts to link the Republican nominee to the former president. Youngkin’s careful approach may have worked for him — and McAuliffe’s efforts failed — as the preliminary exit polls suggest about 1 in 5 voters who have an unfavorable view of Trump backed Youngkin. Meanwhile, Biden is now the president and his weakened national standing undoubtedly played a role in why this race is so close. For McAuliffe, that’s a challenge because the preliminary exit polls show only about 1 in 10 voters who disapproved of Biden voted for McAuliffe.

With the polls now closed in Virginia, we should expect the vote to start coming in around 7:30 p.m. mostly from votes casted in precincts today, per ABC News. Larger cities and counties said they expect mail-in ballots to be among the last results they report.

The education divide remains very important politically in the commonwealth. According to preliminary exit polls, McAuliffe is winning almost 6 in 10 college-educated voters this year, while Youngkin is outperforming Trump’s strong 2020 performance among voters without a college degree.