Tuesday’s Virginia gubernatorial election results were a blow to both Democrats and the Biden administration. According to ABC News, in the end, it was white suburban women and younger voters who handed Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin the victory. According to reports, white suburban moms who had cast their votes for Biden in 2020 didn’t care for McAuliffe’s comparisons of Youngkin with Trump, and more importantly, they didn’t care for his comments about parents and education.

So what exactly happened? 

The data shows that Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe crossed the line with his comments that parents shouldn’t be telling schools what to teach. 

During an appearance on “Meet the Press” last Sunday, McAuliffe was queried regarding his remark about parents and schools during a 2021 September debate with his opponent. McAuliffe stated, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” 

Oopsies.

Republicans ran with that public gaff, and according to exit polls, that issue appears to have helped Youngkin over the finish line. Unfortunately for McAuliffe, he never retracted his comments, even in the midst of criticism from both Virginia parents and GOP lawmakers. He claimed that the crowd clapped when he said that parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach their children.

McAuliffe’s comment emerged during a discussion on parents objecting to having students read politicized or explicit books in schools. During the debate, Toni Morrison’s book “Beloved” was given as an example. “Beloved” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988, and tells the story of a family of former slaves which includes some explicit scenes of bestiality, sex, violence, and infanticide. It has been assigned to juniors and seniors in some advanced placement literature classes in high school and has caused some twisting of parental knickers.

“I’m not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decision,” McAuliffe said. 

A week before the election, Youngkin released an ad featuring a Fairfax County mom, Laura Murphy, who started waging a battle in 2013 against the required reading of “Beloved” in schools. She claimed that her son (a high school senior at the time) said it gave him nightmares while reading it for an advanced placement literature class.

During the debate, Youngkin claimed that requiring students to read “Beloved” was concerning to parents due to the explicit nature of some of the material. The GOP candidate charged that Democrat Terry McAuliffe blocked parents from protecting their children from explicit classroom material. McAuliffe responded by raising the specter of book-banning and fired back at Youngkin, labeling his use of “Beloved” as a “racist dog whistle.” 

Youngkin later shared the video on Twitter with an accompanying post that said, “What’s it like to have Terry McAuliffe block you from having a say in your child’s education? This mom knows — she lived through it. Watch her powerful story. #Vagov”

Some critics have stated that McAuliffe blew it with his “woke” rhetoric and painting of Youngkin as a “Trumper.” These same critics suggest that if Democrats want to win in 2022, they should avoid “leftist” rhetoric and avoid the subjects of critical race theory and abortion rights.

I respectfully disagree.

Hope for the future of the Democratic party lies in progressive candidates, and not “centrist” Dems who continue to use old strategies and world views that just don’t capture voters anymore.

Moving beyond Virginia, the results of other elections on Tuesday should be heartening for Dems, and show proof positive that progressive candidates can win elections. Look at Elaine O’Neal, the first Black woman mayor of Durham, North Carolina. Boston’s next mayor, City Councilor Michelle Wu, the first woman and person of color elected mayor in the city’s history. Then there’s Pennsylvania State Rep. Ed Gainey, elected the first Black mayor of Pittsburg, and Aftab Pureval, elected mayor of Cincinnati, becoming the first-ever Asian-Tibetan American to hold that office. In New York City, Eric Adams was elected the second African American mayor in the history of the Big Apple. Also, Democrat Phil Murphy (who is caucasian) is the first Democratic governor in more than four decades to win reelection in New Jersey. All of these elected Democrats hold progressive “woke” agendas such as paid parental leave, a woman’s right to choose, addressing climate change, as well as providing affordable housing and equity in education.

Maybe the problem in Virginia is that McAuliffe attacked a parent’s role in education and compared his opponent with Trump. American voters have short memories, and perhaps many would like to forget Trump and January 6th. In the end, what’s going to save Dems is to focus on growing the economy, and supporting programs that the American people overwhelmingly support, such as increased funding for public schools, paid medical and family leave, free college, eliminating student debt, as well as having the rich pay more taxes.