The 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the next governor of Virginia. The election was concurrent with other elections for Virginia state offices. Incumbent Democratic governor Ralph Northam was ineligible to run for re-election, as the Constitution of Virginia prohibits governors from serving consecutive terms. Businessman Glenn Youngkin won the Republican nomination at the party's May 8 convention, which was held in 37 polling locations across the state, and was officially declared the nominee on May 10. The Democratic Party held its primary election on June 8, which former governor Terry McAuliffe easily won.
In the general election, Youngkin defeated McAuliffe by nearly 64,000 votes in what was considered a mild upset because McAuliffe led over Youngkin in the polls until right before Election Day. Youngkin was the first Republican to win a statewide election in Virginia since 2009. The economy, education, public health, and cultural issues were centerpieces of Youngkin's campaign. Youngkin promised to ban the teaching of critical race theory within state schools on "day one", push back against certain COVID-19 restrictions including vaccination mandates and mask mandates, and advocate for small government within the state of Virginia.
Democrats tried to portray Youngkin as a political ally of Donald Trump, who lost Virginia in 2020, and Trump did indeed express support for Youngkin. Walking a fine line between welcoming the endorsement and demonstrating independence, Youngkin was able to successfully appeal to both Republicans and independents. Political analysts believe that the main reason for the Democratic Party's defeat in Virginia was that voters were not satisfied with the performance of President Joe Biden, with whom McAuliffe allied himself.
Democratic primary.
Endorsements.
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;Jennifer Carroll Foy
Federal officials
State delegates
Local official
Organizations
Labor unions
Individuals
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;Lee J. Carter
Individual
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;Justin Fairfax
Foreign politician
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;Terry McAuliffe
Governor
U.S. representative
State delegates
State senators
Local officials
Labor unions
Newspapers
Individuals
Organizations
 ;templatestyles src="Endorsements box/styles.css"/ ;Jennifer McClellan
State delegates
State senators
Local officials
Organizations
Individuals
Debates.
McClellan opened the debate calling for a “nominee who will excite and expand our base. I’ve spent 31 years building this party and electing Democrats at the local, state and national level. It’s not enough to give someone something to vote against. We’ve got to give people something to vote for,” McClellan said. Foy said in her opening statement that she is presenting bold ideas that past politicians have failed to bring to Virginia. The pointed remark came before she went after the record of McAuliffe, the first criticism of the night directed at the presumptive frontrunner. Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax compared scrutiny of his sexual assault allegations to that of the cases of George Floyd and Emmett Till in the debate. McAuliffe mainly avoided directly responding to the attacks, focusing instead on his record as governor, the support he's received during his campaign and, stopping Glenn Youngkin in November's general election. Later in the debate, Carter called McAuliffe out for mentioning Youngkin and Trump so often. “The debate that we’re supposed to be having on this stage is a debate about the future of this commonwealth,” he said. “It’s about what we stand for and what we’re going to fight for. And this is the first opportunity for the Democratic Party to define what it is going to be after Donald Trump is gone. And he is gone. So, we can’t just be a party that is opposed to the other guys. We have to fight for something.” Carter, a self-described socialist, reiterated his proposal to use tax revenue from the marijuana industry to fund reparations.
Notes.
Partisan clients
References.
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External links.
Official campaign websites