McAuliffe will face former Carlyle CEO Jan King in the Virginia governor race

Democratic veteran Terry McAuliffe will face former Republican Carlyle CEO Glenn Yankin in this year’s Virginia governor’s election. This game will be seen less than a year after Joe Biden becomes president. The weather vane of the American political climate.

Only two governors — Virginia and New Jersey — will compete in November. Although the democratic incumbent Phil Murphy is expected to re-elect in New Jersey, analysts said that the Virginia game is a “toss” that will attract a lot of national interest.

Kyle Kondik of the Political Center of the University of Virginia said: “This is the big tent competition this year,” he pointed out that the state governor race held a year after the presidential election has traditionally been regarded as a referendum on the presidential election. . Hold a party at the White House.

This year’s election will be regarded as an important first election test for Biden and the Democratic Party to enter. Next year’s midterm elections, Dang’s control over the two houses of Congress and dozens of governors will be questioned. This will also mark a chance for the Republican Party to win back the support of moderate voters who have given up on the party because they hate Donald Trump.

McAuliffe served as governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. He won the Democratic state primary election on Tuesday and became a candidate for his party, ranking among the top five candidates. According to state laws that prohibit continuous holding of public officials, the current Democratic president, Ralph Northam, cannot seek re-election.

McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Long-term ally Bill and Hillary Clinton will now face Youngkin in the November election.

Youngkin, who has never held an elected position, left Carlyle last year after working for the private equity firm for 25 years and began running for governor in January. After a convention last month, he won the Republican nomination and won the support of Trump. He said that Youngkin “knows how to make Virginia’s economy flourish.”

According to reports, his net worth is about 300 million U.S. dollars. His campaign announced last week that it has raised nearly 16 million U.S. dollars from donors so far, only slightly higher than the nearly 15 million U.S. dollars raised by McAuliffe.

But Youngkin faces an uphill battle in Virginia, a state owned by the Democratic Party. Achieved significant gains In recent years, it has mainly been supported by former Republicans and independent suburban voters.Last November, Biden became the first Win in Virginia Since 1944 Franklin D Roosevelt (Franklin D Roosevelt) has exceeded 10%.

Analysts say that Youngkin needs to strike a delicate balance between winning back moderate Republicans without alienating conservatives. Trump support base If he wants to win in November.

However, history may be on his side, because in recent decades Virginia has tended to elect a governor from parties not in the White House-McAuliffe won in 2013, a year after Barack Obama was re-elected as US president. exception. .

“[Virginia] Sometimes regarded as one of the first tests of the new presidential government,” Condick said, adding: “Frankly, this is a test. The government often fails because the country has a long history of voting against the White House. “