Republican Glenn Youngkin, 54, was elected governor in Virginia, beating Democrat Terry McAuliffe, former governor from 2014 to 2018, who had led the election campaign with Biden and Barack Obama. The result is a slap in the face for Joe Biden: the current president had won in Virginia last year against Donald Trump by a large 10 percent margin. The new governor spoke of “a defining moment” for millions of Virginia residents who “shared dreams and hopes”.
After the vote count, Youngkin promised: “Together we will change the trajectory of this Commonwealth and, friends, we will begin that transformation from day one. There is no time to lose”. Furthermore, “we will restore excellence in our schools. We will introduce choice into our public school system. We will go ahead with a curriculum that includes listening to the contribution of the parents ».
Complicating the picture for President Biden is also the New Jersey where, with the ballot still underway, the Democrat Phil Murphy is lagging behind his Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli. The vote in the two states, and especially in Virginia, is considered a referendum on the first year of Biden’s presidency and on the work of the Democrats, as well as being a thermometer of the mid-term elections of 2022.
Super Tuesday instead gives Democrat Eric Adams the title of mayor of New York. The former agent beats Curtis Sliwa and is preparing to become the second African-American mayor of the Big Apple. “We will put New York on a new direction,” he said in exultation at the victory at the polls, which also saw the triumph of Alvin Bragg elected attorney of Manhattan. The 48-year-old, the first African American to hold that position, will inherit the investigation into Donald Trump and his family business.
A Boston voters make history and choose Michelle Wu as the first female mayor and the first Asian-American to lead the city. Wu’s election shows the social evolution of Boston, where whites are now a minority.