MCLEAN, Virginia — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe refused to concede the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday night, despite election results showing a substantial lead for Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin.
McAuliffe’s supporters cheered as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate took the stage at the campaign’s election night party in McLean, Virginia, and vowed to continue to wait out the election results. Hours later, Youngkin was declared the winner.
The crowd had thinned out from earlier in the night as results trickled in, indicating Youngkin would likely prevail in the race.
REPUBLICAN LEADERS CONGRATULATE YOUNGKIN BEFORE VIRGINIA RACE CALLED
“We’ve still got a lot of votes to count,” McAuliffe told his supporters, attempting to generate some enthusiasm. “We’ve got about 18% of the vote out, so we’re going to continue to count the votes because every single Virginian deserves to have their vote counted.”
He followed that up with a defiant tweet that read, “Folks, not everything is counted and we’re still waiting for a lot of votes to come in. And we want to ensure every Virginians’ voice is heard.”
Folks, not everything is counted and we’re still waiting for a lot of votes to come in. And we want to ensure every Virginians’ voice is heard.
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) November 3, 2021
As results trickled in throughout the night, McAuliffe supporters had little about which to get excited. A substantial lack of cheers defined the evening mood up until the candidate took the stage.
With the crowd having little to cheer about, the campaign substantially cranked up the in-venue music. During a brief moment when the music stopped, crowd noise was quite minimal.
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The crowd only cheered for results when deep-blue Fairfax County announced its first results. The loudest cheers for the night came when the candidate introduced his family.
Despite McAuliffe trying to strike an optimistic note, when he finished speaking, his supporters, perhaps sensing the writing on the wall, were quick to make for the exits, with the venue almost deserted within 20 minutes of the candidate’s remarks.
