This Tuesday they were held in United States state elections for governor and mayor. The Democratic Party suffered a heavy defeat in Virginia at the hands of Glenn youngkin, a billionaire with no political experience who had the support of former President Donald Trump and who will become the first Republican governor of the state in a decade. In New York, Democrat and former police officer Eric Adams will succeed Bill de Blasio.
Youngkin prevailed over Terry McAuliffe, who ruled Virginia between 2014 and 2018, by a tight difference of more than 2 points with 95 percent of the tables scrutinized. The result is a blow to the Government, since in the presidential elections Joe Biden Biden had achieved a 10-point advantage over Trump.
These elections were the first test of voters’ spirits since Biden’s inauguration, and the results They seem to show frustration with the Democrat’s management and they predict a complicated year before legislative elections of November 2022, when the ruling party will seek to retain the majority in Congress.
The “culture war” campaign
“This is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before,” said Youngkin, who invested at least $ 20 million of his own fortune in these elections, as he celebrated his victory with his voters at a hotel in the city of Chantilly.
The Republican accepted Trump’s support during the election campaign, but avoided being seen with him as the former president does not have a good image among independent voters in much of Virginia.
Youngkin decided to focus his campaign speech on what he calls the “culture war,” such as abortion, mandatory masking, and mandatory teaching of American racial history.
For his part, McAuliffe focused his campaign on showing himself as someone who had recovered jobs after the global financial crisis of 2008, and promised to repeat it to overcome the economic difficulties caused by the pandemic. Although at the beginning he achieved an advantage of almost seven points, it was diluted in the last days.
A setback for Biden’s economic plan
According to local analysts, McAuliffe’s defeat could cause some moderate Democratic lawmakers to withdraw their support for Biden’s plan to inject $ 1.75 million to boost the American economy.
This plan, focused on social welfare and infrastructure, is central to the president’s political agenda but is undergoing major setbacks to be approved in Washington.
Democratic triumph in New York
Democrat Eric Adams, a 61-year-old former New York police captain who has focused on fighting racism, became the new mayor of New York on Tuesday and the second African-American to govern the city.
With 78 percent of the votes counted, Adams led the count with 66.5 percent, compared to 28.8 percent of his rival, Republican Curtis Sliwa.
In Manhattan, Adams got 81 percent of the vote, in the Bronx 76 percent, 71 in Brooklyn and 59 in Queens, while in Staten Island he got 27 percent to 68 for the 67-year-old Republican candidate, founder of the ‘Guardian Angels’, a group of volunteers to patrol the streets alongside the police.
“Tonight I fulfilled my dream and with all my heart I am going to remove barriers that prevent you from fulfilling yours as well,” said Adams as he celebrated his victory.
Florida, Republican stronghold
In Florida, Republican Francis Suárez was reelected as head of the Miami government and he had 79 percent of the votes.
Election day also included the election of the governor of New Jersey and the mayors of Seattle, Boston and New Orleans, among 40 other cities in the United States.
In Ohio, in addition, voters defined two seats in the House of Representatives in each election to replace two congressmen, one Republican and one Democrat, who resigned their seats this year.
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