Concept
The 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the next governor of Virginia. The election was concurrent with other elections for Virginia state offices. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ralph Northam was ineligible to run for re-election, as the Constitution of Virginia prohibits governors from serving consecutive terms. Businessman Glenn Youngkin won the Republican nomination at the party's May 8 convention, which was held in 37 polling locations across the state, and was officially declared the nominee on May 10. The Democratic Party held its primary election on June 8, which former Governor Terry McAuliffe easily won. In the general election, Youngkin defeated McAuliffe by nearly 64,000 votes in what was considered an upset because McAuliffe led over Youngkin in the polls until right before election day. Youngkin was the first Republican to win a statewide election in Virginia since 2009. The economy, education, public health, and cultural issues were centerpieces of Youngkin's campaign. Youngkin promised to ban the teaching of critical race theory within state schools on "day one", push back against certain COVID-19 restrictions including vaccination mandates and mask mandates, and advocate for small government within the state of Virginia. Democrats tried to portray Youngkin as a political ally of Donald Trump, who is politically unpopular in Virginia, and Trump did indeed express support for Youngkin. Walking a fine line between welcoming the endorsement and demonstrating independence, Youngkin was able to successfully appeal to both Republicans and independents. Political analysts believe that the main reason for the Democratic Party's defeat in Virginia was that voters were not satisfied with the performance of President Joe Biden, with whom McAuliffe allied himself. Youngkin's campaign successfully campaigned on dissatisfaction with current economic and educational policies from voters, particularly centrists, to win more votes than in the past in several key suburban counties to fuel his election.
