Election results: Murphy hangs on in New Jersey as Democratic blame game over Virginia begins
GOP victory in blue-trending state heaps pressure on president struggling with approval ratings
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Republican Glenn Youngkin has defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in a tight race for Virginia’s governor’s seat.
It is a blow for Joe Biden who had promoted Mr McAuliffe as “the proven leader who will move Virginia forward”. The president, whose national approval ratings are in the gutter, ignored reporters’ questions as he returned to the White House on Wednesday following his trip to Cop26.
Mr McAuliffe wanted to return to the office he left four years ago and tried to link Mr Youngkin to Donald Trump, hoping Democrats’ dislike for the former president would motivate them in a state Mr Biden carried by 10 points in 2020.
Mr Youngkin focused on culture-war topics like “election integrity” and how racial inequality is taught in school, appealing to Mr Trump’s base but avoiding campaigning with him in person. He benefited from high turnout in rural areas, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, Democratic governor Phil Murphy is in a dead heat in New Jersey against Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli. And in New York City, Democrat Eric Adams defeated the GOP’s Curtis Sliwa in the mayoral race.
Source close to White House says voters are tired of ‘nitpicking’
A source close to the White House has told CNN that the Democratic setbacks in Tuesday’s elections were a sign of voters’ frustration with legislative inaction in DC.
“If voters are frustrated with inaction, the obvious response is to be more decisive and pass bills based on an agenda for the middle class that received a record-breaking 81 million votes last year,” they said. “And there’s a strong consensus about that across the party. Doing less is plainly the opposite of what people want.”
“Voters were clear that they were unhappy with inaction and nitpicking,” they added. “And Democrats widely agree that there is greater impetus to go ahead, faster, with bills that will be economic game-changers for middle-class families and ensure the economy delivers for hard-working people in their daily lives, not just those at the top.”
Manchin on social spending plans: ‘Let’s take time to do it right’
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has told CNN that Democrats should take their “time to do it right” when it comes to social spending plans as several members of the party argued on Wednesday that Tuesday’s electoral setbacks serve as signals that it’s time to speed up, not slow down, the legislative process.
McCarthy says Republicans have ‘warned Pelosi every day that her policies are wrong and not wanted'
During a press conference on Wednesday, Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy started by saying: “Oh what a night it was.”
“We have warned Speaker Pelosi almost every day … that her policies are wrong and not wanted,” he added.
He said Republicans “will soon unroll a ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’” following the victorious campaign of the party’s nominee in the Virginia governor’s race, Glenn Youngkin, who ran on giving parents more power over their kids’ education. School board meetings in the state have become a hotbed of partisan rancour as parents fight against how race is handled in schools, as well as pandemic restrictions.
When asked about former President Donald Trump’s role in the Virginia election, Mr McCarthy dodged the question.
“I guess I can’t be surprised, the morning after Republicans win across the nation, the media wants to try to find division,” he told reporters, according to Axios.
“I know I’ve had that discussion with quite a few members on the other side,” he said when asked if he has spoken to any House Democrats about switching parties.
Divided Democrats call for new strategy after disaster in VA
A brutal loss in blue-leaning Virginia and a too-close-for-comfort race in New Jersey sent divided Democrats in Washington scrambling for answers Wednesday, and calling for new strategies to unstick a stalled legislative agenda before they sustain more political damage.
Republican Glenn Youngkin edged Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor’s race, erasing President Joe Biden s 10 percentage point margin of victory just a year ago. In New Jersey, heavily favored Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was neck-and-neck with GOP political newcomer Jack Ciattarelli in a state Biden had carried by 16 percentage points.
The results were ominous for Democrats far beyond those states. The party’s eroding support does not bode well as it clings to narrow House and Senate majorities ahead of midterm elections next year. Elections without presidential races historically mean many lost seats, especially in the House, for the party holding the White House.
Congressional leaders on Wednesday tried bolstering the appeal of Biden’s stalled domestic legislation and used the election results to call for action. The two measures — a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a 10-year, $1.75 trillion package of social and environment initiatives financed largely with taxes on the wealthy and corporations — have been slowed for months by infighting between progressives and moderates.
“I would hope this clarifies everybody’s thinking about how important it is to get these bills behind us,” said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., who represents some of Washington’s prosperous suburbs. “The time for kvetching is over.”
Read more:
Divided Democrats call for new strategy after disaster in VA
Democrats have differing explanations about why their gubernatorial candidates lost in blue-leaning Virginia and were deadlocked in heavily Democratic New Jersey
Murphy, Ciattarelli nearly tied in New Jersey governor race
Democratic Gov Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli on Wednesday were locked in what amounts to a tie in the New Jersey governor’s race, with both candidates buckling up for a close finish likely to be contested by the loser.
The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner in the contest, which was too early to call. But Murphy had a lead of less than a percentage point in incomplete results as county elections officials continued to count ballots.
The closeness of the race has surprised experts, who watched public polls showing Murphy leading comfortably and looked to his party’s registration advantage of more than a million voters.
“If you asked anybody several months ago within the state, I think anyone would have predicted a high double-digit landslide for Murphy,” said Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling.
New Jersey does not have an automatic recount law, but the candidates are permitted to request one. The party that wants a recount has to file a suit in State Superior Court in the counties where they want to contest tallies. That has to be done within 17 days of Election Day.
Murphy, Ciattarelli nearly tied in New Jersey governor race
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli were locked in what amounts to a tie in the New Jersey governor's race
Former head of cybersecurity agency posts sarcastic tweet about lack of fraud claims
The former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, who was fired by former President Donald Trump for standing up to the big lie, posted a sarcastic tweet about the lack of fraud claims following the Republican win in the Virginia governor’s race.
Chris Krebs was forced out after the agency released a statement following the 2020 contest stating that it was the most secure election in American history.
“Good news everyone! Apparently, we secured all the elections in the last year, because I’m not seeing a lot of claims of fraud or stolen elections after yesterday. Congrats to all the election security peeps out there for all your hard work!” Mr Krebs tweeted on Wednesday.
Candidates who attended 'Stop the Steal' rally win races
Three VirginiaRepublicans who won their state legislative races on Tuesday had attended former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
At least 13 candidates on Tuesday’s ballots for state or local offices were in Washington, D.C., for the rally promoting the lie that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Trump, according to a list compiled by BuzzFeed News. None of them have been charged with any crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot or accused of entering the Capitol that day.
Five of the 13 were running for seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, which Democrats and Republicans are battling to control. The House remained up for grabs Wednesday, with a handful of competitive races still too early to call.
The list of losing candidates who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally included Oath Keepers member Edward Durfee Jr., who ran for the New Jersey General Assembly. He finished third behind two Democrats. Durfee worked a security detail for the Oath Keepers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, Gothamist reported, but he isn’t accused of joining other members of the far-right paramilitary group in storming the building.
The three rally attendees who won their Virginia House races were incumbents Del. Dave LaRock and Del. John McGuire and Marie March, who won an open seat. The two losers in Virginia were Philip Hamilton and Maureen Brody. BuzzFeed News reported that Hamilton and Brody were at the Capitol on 6 January.
Read more:
Candidates who attended 'Stop the Steal' rally win races
Three Virginia Republicans who won legislative races had attended former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol
Top Republicans say Virginia victory gives them hope of seizing Senate next year
Republicans say they see signs of a red wave in 2022 after GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin routed former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial race.
Mr Youngkin resoundingly beat Mr McAuliffe, running largely on opposing teaching of “critical race theory,” a niche legal school of thought that has become a catch-all for teaching about racial inequality and inequities.
“I think this shows some wind in our back and wind into their face,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said.
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who has made opposing critical race theory a hallmark of his time in the Senate, said it was a resounding sign that parents don’t want their children to learn about similar subjects.
“Parents don’t want to be treated as the enemy,” he said. “That and the fact that President Biden is really unpopular. I mean you shouldn’t discount that.”
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is running for re-election next year, said it was a sign that Democrats should not go forward with their massive social spending bill.
“I don’t know why they would proceed when the public spoke out so much against ... parents aren’t terrorists, on inflation, on the tax policies and in particularly, the crisis at the border,” he said. “It’s obvious to them that there’s a big revolt against everything that’s going on in this administration.”
Democrats leaned heavily into tying Mr Youngkin to former president Donald Trump, but that proved to no avail as Republicans sliced into Democrats’ margins in Virginia. Democrats are defending three swing district seats in 2022 in the Commonwealth.
Read more:
Republicans see hope for the midterm elections after Virginia rout
‘We have the wind at our backs and wind at their faces,’ says Republican senator Lindsey Graham
Democrat Phil Murphy reelected governor of New Jersey
Democrat Phil Murphy has been reelected as governor of New Jersey, the Associated Press projected on Wednesday evening. After a disfavourable night for Democrats, the New Jersey race remained too close to call well into Wednesday. Mr Murphy has bucked his state’s decades-long trend of sending a Democratic governor packing after one term.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies