What Went Down During The 2021 Elections

In addition to Youngkin looking like a good bet to be the next governor of Virginia, it also looks like Republicans are favored to flip the lieutenant governor’s and attorney general’s offices (the Republican nominees lead both races 55 percent to 45 percent right now) as well as the House of Delegates. That would leave Republicans just the state Senate shy of a governing trifecta (the state Senate wasn’t on the ballot this year).

In Austin, Texas, a controversial proposition that would’ve forced local officials to drastically increase the city’s police force appears doomed. According to early vote totals in Travis County, where the bulk of Austin’s voters live, 67 percent of residents voted against Prop A, while just 33 percent of voters voted for it. The fight over this proposition was somewhat viewed as a referendum on Austin’s scaled-down approach to policing — which was implemented after months of racial justice protests throughout the city. But the proposal was even opposed by the city’s firefighters, who argued the measure would force Austin to lay off hundreds of employees including firefighters, medics and librarians.

If Trump doesn’t run, it’s not totally impossible. The GOP has changed over the past decade, but it’s not like a wholly different party. Historically, more moderate candidates have done well in GOP presidential primaries — Bush, McCain, Romney, to name a few. And even in 2016, Trump was seen as more moderate by primary voters than the alternative, Ted Cruz. So, who exactly knows up from down post-2016, but that’s some historical context to think about.