We’re getting ready to hit the three week anniversary of the Virginia Election Day red wave that started with Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin’s delicious victory over Democrat nominee Terry McAuliffe, and which continued on with Winsome Sears winning the Lt. Gov’s race, Jason Miyares winning in the state Attorney General race, and Republicans retaking the House of Delegates.
Surprisingly enough, the hot takes on what allegedly went wrong that night for Democrats are still coming in, although not nearly as much as they were the first week to two weeks after the upset that in reality really wasn’t an upset when you consider how the tide turned for McAuliffe in the final few weeks of the campaign after he admitted that “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
Most of the hot takes I’ve heard from leftist pundits is that maybe McAuliffe and other Dems should have run a more centrist campaign and had been less harsh on voters concerned about Critical Race Theory being implemented in the public school classrooms. Other commentators suggested McAuliffe or his Virginia colleagues might have had more luck if Democrats had not engaged in infighting about big-spending legislation prior to the election.
But one thing I hadn’t heard until today from a Democrat is that McAuliffe and co. didn’t run Far enough to go left. But sure enough, that hot take has arrived – courtesy of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who told the New York Times during a recent interview that it was made clear that her help and that of other extremist Democrats was not wanted in Virginia races. This is something Ocasio-Cortez says likely doomed McAuliffe and other Democrats to fail because Democrats in battleground states apparently can’t get enough of the AOCs of the world or something:
It was clear before the Virginia election that we were not asked or wanted to help. I’m not here to tell people how to run their races. But at the same time, to consider the members here that have some of the tightest relationships to our political base as just a uniform liability — and not something that can be selectively deployed, or consulted, or anything — I think it’s just sad. It was an error.
The result was a huge youth dropout. No one asked me to send them an email. Not even to my list. And then they turn around and say, “It’s their fault.” When I think it was communicated quite expressly that we were unwelcome to pitch in.
The idea that we just accept a collapse in youth turnout — and essentially turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy — in times when races are decided by such narrow margin points: I think it’s ill advised.
I mean, on one hand, you’ve got to give it to AOC for being willing to be the last person on that sinking progressive-left ship, who would quite literally carry the banner ’til the bitter end if necessary.
However, she also believes that her involvement could have changed any races’ outcome. Virginia voters rejected Terry McAuliffe’s radicalism and those of other candidates regarding the economy, jobs and education. They also rejected McAuliffe’s promises about a more tolerant approach to COVID mandates and other matters.
Plus, in swing states like Virginia, Republicans are keen on – and have had a lot of success in recent elections with – tying vulnerable Democratic candidates to AOC and her fellow Squad members, because as it turns out, voters in those states aren’t as on board with “wokeness” as they’d like them to be.
AOC’s involvement in Virginia likely would have made the outcome even worse for Democrats.
I’m not sure how widespread AOC’s view is among Democrats regarding the Virginia elections, but AOC better secretly hope for her party’s sake that it’s not. Because as it appears right now, next year’s midterms are looking to be catastrophic for Democrats. They will likely lose a lot of votes if they send AOC to states or Congressional districts where they could lose.
Not that I’m complaining, and not that I’m advising against it, of course. I’m just saying.
Related:Ron DeSantis gets the last laugh on Terry McAuliffe
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