It is hard for me to put into exact words how unbelievably happy I am for my beloved neighbors to the north of me in the state of Virginia tonight.

Though no politician of any political party is a “savior,” the “blue” state of Virginia tonight was – for now – “rescued” in a way from blue domination by Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin, who is now projected to have won the race against Democrat nominee Terry McAuliffe.

I also understand Stacey Abrams is firing up the mic to proclaim she really won this thing, but like it was in 2018, it’s a no-go for her tonight, too. Sorry not sorry, Stacey.

The icing on the cake? The Virginia House of Delegates is also projected to flip back to red. Republican Lt. Gov nominee Winsome Sears also won. Republican AG nominee Jason Miyares won. A sweep! Just an absolutely outstanding night for Republicans in the state, and, as Bonchie noted in his piece, the warning signs are flashing BRIGHT RED for Democrats with the panic button not just smashed but CRUSHED.

Opinions will, of course, vary on what led to this catastrophic night for Virginia Democrats, but my personal hot take is that Terry McAuliffe was a genuinely awful person and candidate who came off as believing he owned the seat just because he’d won it before. And after his admission in that late September debate about how “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” the guy actually doubled down – repeatedly doubled down! – on the declaration.

Who doubles down on saying something so stupid, something that was clearly insulting to every parent of school-aged children in the state of Virginia? Terry McAuliffe, that’s who. The guy who thought this race was in the bag all along and who didn’t think he’d have to fight for it.

Even worse, McAuliffe repeatedly further insulted at least half of Virginia’s voters by suggesting they were “racists” for opposing the implementation of Critical Race Theory in the public school system, accusing them of manufacturing the issue. Shouldn’t be too much of a shock to find out that voters don’t like to be called ignorant “racists,’ Terry. What an absolutely DUMB strategy – called out by yours truly numerous times, but we thank you for it!

You can’t win an election by telling voters that their concerns are imaginary.

— Yascha Mounk (@Yascha_Mounk) November 3, 2021

Exit polls tonight also showed Biden is NOT popular in the state, another factor in McAuliffe’s defeat. Karma for the guy who tried and failed to tie Youngkin to who McAuliffe called the “racist” Trump.

I have said for weeks now in some of my posts here that this race was starting to remind me very much of the 2014 Senate race here in North Carolina between then-Sen. Kay Hagan (D) and GOP nominee Thom Tillis. In the final month of the race, the tide turned for Tillis – who had trailed in the polls up until early October – and he went on to win it in an election night nailbiter after his campaign stepped on the gas in the final weeks and just crushed it.

Some of my colleagues and I felt like Youngkin had a real shot at winning, and expressed it here in varying degrees in some of our work. Youngkin ran a stellar campaign and kept the heat ON when McAuliffe started crumbling.

Today, I said the governor’s race must be won by Youngkin before it was too late to turn back the blue tide in Virginia. I said red miracles can and do happen in blue states. As long as conservatives keep the heat up and stay on message.

And it’s happened tonight. In a YUGE way. The race card was played over and over by Democrats in this battle. And it FAILED. And now they can EAT IT. Burn it.

Virginia is red again. It’s RED!

It feels good. DAMN good.

To see the results for this race as they continue to roll in, click here.