Republican Glenn Youngkin declared victory in Virginia's high-stakes governor's race shortly after CNN projected he would win the state's highest office, saying he would bring transformation to the state. "Together we will change the trajectory of this commonwealth, and friends, we are going to start that transformation on day one," he said. "There's no time to waste. Our kids can't wait. We work in real people time, not government time." Youngkin, a Virginia businessman, then quickly moved on to the topic of education, a hot-button issue which helped propel him to victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe. "We're going to restore excellence in our schools," he said. "We will invest the largest education budget in the history of the commonwealth... We're going to introduce choice within our public school system." "We're going to embrace our parents, not ignore them," he said, referencing a comment made by McAuliffe in September in which he suggested parents ought not to tell schools what to teach. Youngkin then moved on to the cost of living which has worried many Virginians as inflation rises, saying he would lower prices across the state and lower taxes. "This stopped being a campaign long ago," he continued. "This is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before. The spirit of Washington and Jefferson and Madison and Monroe standing up and taking our commonwealth back." Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who served as Virginia governor from 2014-18, saw his opinion poll lead vanish in recent weeks. The ballot has been widely seen as a referendum on Joe Biden's presidency, and defeat will unnerve the Democrats. Biden won by 10 points in Virginia just a year ago. In more potential good news for Republicans in Virginia, their candidate, Winsome Sears, is tipped to become the first black female lieutenant governor of the state, which was the former seat of the pro-slavery Confederacy during the American Civil War. The Republican candidate for Virginia attorney general, Cuban American Jason Miyares, was also leading that vote count. And Republicans seemed to be closing in on control of the state's House of Delegates. In other elections across the US on Tuesday: New Jersey's Democratic Governor Phil Murphy is in an unexpectedly tight race as votes are counted in his re-election bid against Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli. Amid surging crime, Minneapolis voters rejected a proposal to replace the city's police department with a new Department of Public Safety, more than a year after the murder of George Floyd by an officer. As expected, former police officer Eric Adams has won New York City's mayoral election to replace Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio. In other races, voters in Boston elected their first woman of colour as mayor, Michelle Wu, an Asian-American, and Pittsburgh picked its first black mayor, Ed Gainey. Youngkin will be the first Republican elected to statewide office in Virginia since 2009. The political newcomer focused during the bitterly fought election on crime and the economy, as well as how schools handle race, gender and mask mandates. McAuliffe campaigned on other cultural issues, such as abortion rights and voting reform. But the Democrat's critics hammered him for saying during a debate: "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." According to exit polls by the BBC's US partner, CBS, education and the school curriculum were top issues for slightly more than half of all voters. At a news conference earlier on Tuesday, Biden predicted his party would win the first major election since he took office 10 months ago, but he acknowledged "the off-year is always unpredictable". Biden's popularity has been sliding amid rising inflation, a slow economic recovery, a deadlocked legislative agenda and the aftermath of a disorderly US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Democratic president's approval rating has fallen to 43%, according to an opinion poll average by RealClearPolitics. The McAuliffe campaign tried to liken the challenger to former President Donald Trump, who remains unpopular in Virginia. But Youngkin, a mild-mannered private equity tycoon, sought to appeal to moderates by keeping Trump at arm's length, while tapping into the former president's supporters in the state. His balancing act may offer a template for Republicans seeking to win back suburban moderate voters who were turned off by Trump's firebrand style of politics. The race could shape party messaging and battle-plans for next year's mid-term elections, when the Democrats will defend their wafer-thin majorities in Congress, and the 2024 White House election. Trump was quick to project victory for Youngkin. He said in a statement: "I would like to thank my base for coming out in force and voting for Glenn Youngkin." He added: "The MAGA movement is bigger and stronger than ever before." The winner will succeed outgoing Democratic Governor Ralph Northam.
