Republican Glenn Youngkin pulls ahead in Virginia but governor’s race remains too close to call

It was Election Day across the country…

• The Virginia governor’s race, Democrat Terry McAuliffe was defeated Republican Glenn Youngkin. The race is being widely viewed as a referendum on Joe Biden’s first year in office. Youngkin leaned into a growing backlash against mask mandates, school closures and right-wing fervor against teaching critical race theory.
• In New Jersey, the governor’s race between Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman, remains too close to call.The election could be a litmus of how voters are responding to coronavirus health policies like mask mandates, business closures and other restrictions.
• In Boston, progressive Michelle Wu defeated moderate Annissa Essaibi-George in the mayoral race. She has become the first woman of color and Asian American elected to the office. Her campaign emphasized climate action, the importance of addressing racial inequities in a city where the majority of residents are people of color.
• Aftab Pureval was elected Cincinnati’s first Asian American mayor.“We made history in Cincinnati,” Pureval said to supporters in a victory speech. His family ” came to this country to provide a better life for their sons. Because of that incredible decision, our family went from being refugees to mayor of Cincinnati,” he said.
• Abdullah Hammoud has won the mayoral race in Dearborn, Michigan, making him the city’s first Arab American leader.Dearborn has one of the largest Arab American populations in the nation.
• In Durham, North Carolina, Elaine O’Neal will become city’s first Black woman mayor. She campaigned on neighborhood safety, housing and economic relief in the aftermath of the pandemic. She is a former superior court judge and the former dean of North Carolina Central University’s School of Law.
• Minneapolis voters choose not to replace the police department. Voters rejected a plan to transition the city’s police department to a new Department of Public Safety, nearly a year and a half after the police killing of George Floyd inspired nationwide protests against police brutality.
• In New York, Eric Adams won the New York mayor’s race, as expected. The former police officer, 61, would be only the second Black person to be elected New York mayor. He urged unity in his acceptance speech. “Today we take off the intramural jersey and we put on one jersey, Team New York,” he told supporters in a victory speech.
• Democrat Alvin Bragg won the race for Manhattan district attorney. He will be the first Black DA for Manhattan and inherit an office that is leading a closely-watched investigation into Donald Trump’s business dealings. Bragg has also vowed to address the disproportionate prosecuting of Black residents and scale back the prosecution of “crimes of poverty”.

In other politics news…

• Joe Biden criticized the leaders of China and Russia for not participating in the Cop26 climate change conference, saying they had made a “big mistake”. Holding a press conference before leaving Glasgow, Biden said, “We showed up. And by showing up, we’ve had a profound impact on the way, I think, the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership role.”
• The US rejoined the High Ambition Coalition at Cop26. The group is dedicated to following through on the pledge to limit global temperature increases to 1.5C (2.7F), which was included in the Paris Climate Agreement.
• Biden also expressed confidence that Joe Manchin will support the final version of Democrats’ reconciliation package. “He will vote for this if we have in this proposal what he has anticipated,” the president told reporters in Glasgow. “I believe that Joe will be there.” Manchin has indicated concerns about how the legislation will impact the federal deficit, and he said today that it would take “quite a while” to pass the bill.
• Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats had reached a deal on a proposal to lower prescription drug prices, one of the last remaining hurdles in their negotiations over the reconciliation package. But Democrats still need to find common ground on the immigration provisions and the proposed Medicare expansion in the bill, to name just a couple of the outstanding issues in their talks

– Maanvi Singh and Joan E Greve

The Associated Press has called the race.

The face-off between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin has been widely considered a referendum on Joe Biden.

McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014 to 2018, cast Youngkin as a Trumpist, and vowed to protect voting rights and abortion access in the state, while Youngkin capitalized on anger against mask mandates, school closures, and other pandemic-era public health policies.

Michelle Wu defeated Annissa Essaibi-George in the Boston mayoral race. She has become the first woman of color and Asian American elected to the office.

Acting mayor Kim Janey is the first woman and person of color to lead the city, having been appointed by former mayor Marty Walsh who is now serving as Labor secretary. Wu’s campaign has emphasized climate action, and she has vowed to address the housing crisis and racial injustice. She signaled ambitions to enact universal pre-K, public transit and initiatives to address the racial wealth gap.

Essaibi-George, who ran on a moderate platform, conceded in a phone call to Wu. “I know this is no small feat. You know it’s no small feat,” she said. “I want her to show the city how mothers get it done.”

Wu’s win is historic in a city where the majority of residents are people of color.

Voters rejected a plan to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety, nearly a year and a half after the police killing of George Floyd inspired nationwide protests against police brutality.

The rejected initiative would have gotten rid of a city a requirement to staff the police department with a minimum number of officers, clearing the way to completely reimagine law enforcement. A new Department of Public Safety would instead develop “a comprehensive public health approach”.

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