Why Glenn Youngkin was the 'big loser' of Election Night 2023: analysis

Gov. Glenn Youngkin had high hopes for Election Night 2023. The Virginia governor himself wasn't on the ballot, but he campaigned aggressively for fellow Republicans in state legislature races.

Youngkin's allies reportedly believed that if Republicans obtained majorities in both houses of the Virginia State Legislature, he would be able to take credit for it, enter the 2024 GOP presidential primary and make a strong case for nominating him rather than frontrunner Donald Trump.

But it didn't work out that way. Democrats held their majority in the Virginia Senate and flipped the GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates. In 2024, Democrats will control both branches of the Virginia State Legislature.

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In a scathing article published on November 8, The Nation's Joan Walsh slams Youngkin as the "big loser" of Election Night 2023.

The Republican governor, Walsh emphasizes, "spent more than $14 million" in 2023 "and failed."

"Along with overwhelming pro-choice victories on Ohio's constitutional Issue 1, as well as Kentucky's Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's slam-dunk reelection," Walsh explains, "abortion rights advocates had a great night. Youngkin's humiliating defeat is special, though."

Walsh adds, "In 2017, the anti-Trump resistance took an astonishing 15 seats in the House of Delegates. The 2021 Virginia losses were devastating for progressives, and were also viewed as a Joe Biden backlash. This victory is enormous."

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Youngkin pushed for a 15-week abortion ban in Virginia, trying to paint Democrats as ideologues who oppose any type of abortion compromises. But that messaging didn't work in what has arguably become the Democratic Party's best state in the South.

"Virginia is the only southern state that hasn't imposed drastic limits on abortion since the end of Roe v. Wade," Walsh observes. "I haven't seen decent drill-down results yet, but trust me: Women voters made this happen. The last big state poll showed abortion was motivating 70 percent of Virginia women voters, compared to 47 percent who said that was their top issue in 2019…. Trump is losing in the courts this week; Youngkin just lost big at the polls."

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Read Joan Walsh's full article for The Nation at this link.