On Tuesday, November 2, Virginians went to the polls to select a new Executive Branch of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as all 100 House seats in the General Assembly. The gubernatorial election has received extensive nationwide attention, as the election is seen as a harbinger for the national mid-term elections in 2022. State elections across the country have increasingly become national-centric, and 2021 has been no different in that regard; attracting endorsements and campaign contributions from across the country. No Republican has won statewide office in Virginia since 2009, but that trend ended in 2021, with the election of Glenn Youngkin as the 74th Governor of Virginia.

At the top of the ticket were the Democratic nominee for Governor, Terry McAuliffe, former Governor of Virginia from 2014-2018, and Republican Glenn Youngkin, a political newcomer who made his fortune as the former co-CEO of private equity giant The Carlyle Group. Glenn Youngkin gained tremendous ground in the polls as the election season progressed. According to FiveThirtyEight.com, the race was McAuliffe’s to lose in August, as he held a 7.9% advantage in polling. As of October 29th, the majority of polls conducted showed the race was a statistical dead heat, with one poll showing Youngkin with an eight point lead.