CURL: Here’s What Really Drove The Vote In Virginia

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin not once, but three times.

But Youngkin walked a tightrope throughout the campaign. He accepted the endorsements, but he kept Trump at arm’s length. As his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, brought in a string of heavy hitters — President Joe Biden (twice), former President Barack Obama, first lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris — Youngkin didn’t invite Trump or other national party leaders, and even steered clear of an 11th-hour telephone rally headlined by Trump.

Media reports the day after Youngkin pulled off the win in a state Biden won by more than 10% exactly one year ago are awash with claims that Trump was the decisive factor. Not so.

Exit polls deliver the proof. Just 42% of Virginia voters said they have a favorable view of Trump, while 54% hold an unfavorable view. But Biden’s numbers were the important ones: 45% said they approve of his job, while 54% disapprove. Biden’s approval rating has plunged more at this point in his presidency than any other president since World War II.

So hatred for Trump didn’t drive Democratic voters to the polls this time around, nor does it appear that support for Trump prompted a surge in turnout. Instead, dissatisfaction over Biden’s policies drove the vote — and kept many Democrats from showing up. Nearly 3 in 10 voters said that they voted for the Republican as “a way to express opposition” to Biden, CNN reported. And even though McAuliffe spent most of his campaign trying to connect Youngkin to Trump, voters just didn’t buy it.

Biden has made a mess of things in just 287 days. Inflation has soared, a supply chain crisis has left stored shelves empty, a worker shortage has caused major problems, the southern border catastrophe is still unsolved, and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan left a decidedly sour taste in voters’ mouths.

But Youngkin ran a race focused on local issues, especially the perceived anti-parent stance on education that exploded in Virginia in the campaign’s final weeks. Those two issues — the economy and education — drove the race, not Trump.

“About one-third of Virginia voters called the economy the most important issue facing the state, placing it ahead of other topics that dominated headlines in the closing days of the race. Just under one-quarter said education is most important, about 15% chose taxes, about 14% chose the COVID-19

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