Republicans jolt Biden with win in Virginia, close race in New Jersey

Republicans pushed Democrats out of the Virginia governorship and were running even in heavily Democratic New Jersey on Wednesday, signaling trouble for President Joe Biden’s party heading into next year’s congressional elections.

Republican Glenn Youngkin, a former private equity executive, claimed victory over Democratic former Governor Terry McAuliffe in Tuesday’s vote after distancing himself just enough from former President Donald Trump to win back moderates who had supported Biden just a year ago.

In New Jersey, Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli and incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy were locked in a virtual draw, even though registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans there by more than 1 million. Still, Democrats clung to hope because more votes were due to be counted in their strongholds.

Both saw strong gains in the suburbs from independent voters who had been turned off by Trump’s style of politics. The results in states that Biden won easily in 2020 suggested that Democrats’ razor-thin majorities Congress were highly vulnerable in the 2022 elections…. (Excerpts from Reuters)