Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s dream of a statewide abortion ban and a presidential campaign is dead, as it has been projected that Democrats will keep control of the Virginia state Senate.
The projections:
MAJOR VA PROJECTION: Juan Pablo Segura has lost the Election Day vote to Russet Perry in Loudoun County. We are projecting SD-31 and the Virginia State Senate for Democrats
— Elections Daily (@Elections_Daily) November 8, 2023
In VA Senate, Schuyler VanValkenburg (D) appears to have defeated Siobhan Dunnavant (R) in #SD16. If Russet Perry’s (D) narrow lead holds in #SD31, Dems would be guaranteed to keep the majority.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2023
What does this mean for Glenn Youngkin?
Big-money Republican donors who are still looking for a Trump alternative in 2024 had been wooing Youngkin, who was likely to get into the Republican presidential primary if he flipped the Virginia legislature and signed an abortion ban into law, but none of that happened.
Election experts projected after Youngkin’s victory to become governor that he might be the last Republican to win statewide in Virginia for a decade due to population growth and demographic shifts in the state. That projection appears to be more accurate than Gov. Youngkin’s smoke and sunshine statements about a Republican victory.
Republicans did not win in Virginia as election night 2023 is increasingly looking like a disaster for the GOP. Republicans lost the gubernatorial election in Kentucky. They are likely to lose Issue 1 in Ohio, and they could even lose the governor’s race in Mississippi.
The media keeps telling themselves that Republicans are coming back, but 2023 will mark the sixth straight election night underperformance and loss by the GOP, as the Dobbs decision continues to cost them elections.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association