By Ray Cardello for November 3, 2021 Season 6 / Post 44

The election for Governor in Virginia has been an eye-opener for many reasons. Whether Glenn Youngkin can pull off the upset does not matter. The Democrats have been thrown to the mat a few times during this race. They are on their feet but wobbling and bruised. This fight is not over, but they may not be in the right weight class for the next round.

Let’s go through the happenings of the last couple of weeks; it has been a whirlwind. To put this race in perspective, Glenn Youngkin had a 2% name recognition in polls with a 3% margin of error when he started his quest for the Governor’s office. Terry McAuliffe had been Governor of Virginia, was known by everyone, and in a Blue State, he should have won easily. With a slip of the tongue, McAuliffe turned this race around.

During a debate, he made the fatal slip claiming parents had no place in the decision process of their child’s education. He sounded the horn that awakened the sleeping giant, parents. He referred to school board meetings where people are showing up to confront these boards. These are not just any people, Terry. They are called parents, and you have ticked them off. Education has become the number one issue, and Youngkin owns the subject.

Next is the hot button topic of Critical Race Theory, CRT. McAuliffe claims that CRT has never been taught in Virginia schools, but literature has been uncovered pushing CRT during McAuliffe’s governor years. He is caught in a lie and keeps telling it. The swooshing sound is from students pulled out of Virginia public schools. McAuliffe defends the quality of the Virginia school system and that he raised his five children here. That would have more value if 4 of 5 of Terry’s children did not go to private schools. Lying comes easy to some, especially when they practice the art.

There were two distinct styles in the candidates. Youngkin got out with the people, had enthusiastic rallies, ran a state-level campaign, and spoke to the issues. McAuliffe brought in big guns: Obama, Clyburn, Biden (Joe and Jill}, Harris twice, and numerous celebrities. He rarely talked about the issues but rather the difference between Democrats and Republicans. He ran a national-level campaign and constantly compared Youngkin to Trump. The results were dramatic, with polls showing a 20 point swing favoring Youngkin in the last two weeks.

I am writing this post on Tuesday afternoon. The polls are still open. The pundits on both sides of the race call for victory while saying how tight the race is. So much will depend on turnout, and that is where the enthusiasm factor that favors Youngkin comes into play. I hope that the outcome is undeniable and beyond question. This election has garnered so much national attention that it must be clean.

Should Youngkin pull off this upset, it will send ripples throughout the country that the Democrat policies of Joe Biden are not what the country wants. It will make it very difficult to get moderate Democrats to sign onto a progressive agenda supported by Biden. Even if Youngkin loses but keeps it close, the same message will be felt nationally.

The polls close at 7 PM. We may not have a new Governor tonight. Sleep tight. We will have much to dissect tomorrow.

This article was first published on The Liberty Loft thelibertyloft.com