Joining us for 13 news now at four
it's Election Day in Virginia.
Polls close in just a few
hours at 7:00 o'clock.
Yeah, big day at the top of the ticket.
This time an extremely close race
to decide Virginia's next governor.
The final polls had Terry McAuliffe
and Glenn Youngkin neck and neck.
A lot of people of course
invested in this one,
according to the latest numbers from
the Virginia Public access product,
the candidates brought in more
than $117 million combined,
crushing the previous fund
raising record set in 2017.
Of just over $60 million we do have
team coverage from both camps.
Tonight we're going to start with
Evan Watson, who's been following
the McAuliffe camp all day.
He joins us now from Tysons Corner Heaven.
Thank you, yes, I'm live here in
Tysons Corner where the Democratic
election ticket will host its
election night event here tonight.
This is where Terry McAuliffe,
Haliyal and Mark Herring will be as
the election results start to pour in.
Crews are still setting
the stage for this event.
Terry McAuliffe spent most of today
campaigning here in Northern Virginia.
He posted on Twitter.
When we vote we win,
I'm going to be watching the
atmosphere here as the candidates
and their supporters arrive.
I hear, senator.
Mark Warner will also be arriving here
for this event in a couple of hours,
and of course be checking the atmosphere
and the vibes here as those election
results roll in later on tonight.
The Democrats are hoping to keep
control of the three top positions
in state government governor,
Lieutenant governor, and Attorney general.
Virginia Department of Elections
Commissioner Chris Piper said.
About 20% of the 5.9 million registered
voters in Virginia already voted early
in this election will get a better idea
of the full turn out in a few hours.
When those election results
start pouring back in reporting
live in Tysons Corner from the
Democratic election Night event.
Evan Watson for 13 news now.
Thank
you Evan. Let's turn out to the Younkin camp.
Allison Bazzle is in Chantily ahead of the
Republicans big election night gathering.
She joins us now with an update.
The race for the governor's
mansion is neck and neck.
I'll be here in Fairfax County
at Republican candidate Glenn
Youngkin's election Night watch party.
After the polls closed,
now we did just get here for press
check in Democratic candidate
Terry Mcauliffe's watch party event
is just about 30 minutes away.
Younkin spent some of his final
moments on the campaign trail
last night in Virginia Beach,
wrangling last minute votes with
Republican Attorney General candidate
Jason Mraz and Republican Lieutenant
governor candidate Winsome Sears.
Today on social media,
younkin is sticking with the
slogan he used last night.
Polls don't win elections, votes do.
He's been here in Northern
Virginia throughout the day,
urging people to cast those ballots.
And I'll give you a look inside it all.
The excitement wants the watch
party kicks off in Fairfax County.
I'm Alison basil.
Well, it's been a long road Election Day
for both candidates Mike Gooding and 13
news now political analyst Quentin Kidd
are here now to breakdown how we got
here and what we should expect tonight.
Hello, well, thank you Janet Quinton.
At the Watson Center you've been doing
polling all summer through Labor Day,
and just until last week,
and McAuliffe had a big lead and
it suddenly shrunk to nothing.
What gives? Yeah,
so I think what what gives is.
Donald Trump has inflated if you will
over the last four and a half years,
the democratic share of the vote in Virginia
and Glenn Youngkin was relatively unknown.
So we start when we started this
campaign we had this inflated
sense of where Democrats were in an
unknown Republican post Labor Day.
That all disappeared,
Glenn Youngkin became known to voters
as they started to pay attention.
Donald Trump wasn't as much of a factor.
We go back to the Virginia that
we were before Donald Trump,
which was a + 2 + 3 at the most
plus four Democratic statement.
At that point, the Democrat win
streak goes back to 2009 before
there was such a person as Donald
Trump in the political world, right?
And Democrats have been winning every
statewide election that there's
been from that moment until now,
but it was much closer.
They were very close. Very
close if you remember in 2014 Mark Warner
barely hung on for reelection in 2013.
Terry McAuliffe in his first run
for governor, won on a slim margin,
so a slimmer democratic margin
in Virginia is the norm.
Donald Trump inflated that norm.
I think we're seeing what a
post Donald Trump world looks
like. Do you think McAuliffe did
not help himself in the gaffe that
he made in the second debate when
he said that parents he didn't want
them in the classrooms? Definitely
as evidenced by the fact that the
young campaign was non stop on
that the moment he made that gaffe,
it essentially crystallized suburban
parents concerns about education in
the schools that has been around for
almost two years as a part of Kovid,
and so isn't that a problem for
him tonight on election night,
you and I have sat here many election
nights and as Alexandria City,
Arlington City, Fairfax County,
Fairfax City rolled in
the Democrat always want.
But those very suburbs are
the ones you're talking about.
That's exactly right.
The question tonight is going
to be how many of those?
Voters who had been voting Democratic
because they didn't like Donald
Trump are now going to shift
over and vote Republican because
they're OK with Glenn Youngkin.
And they're upset about what's
going on in the schools,
but we shall see as the evening
progresses, and we'll see much more
of you as the evening progresses.
Thank you, Quinton Janet? Alright,
well, we're keeping you up to date
until all the results are red.
You can always get the latest
results on 13 news.now.com and check
out our digital election special.
That's tonight at 9.