The mood was anxious at Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s election night party in McLean, Virginia.
Mr. McAuliffe, a candidate for governor, hosted a few hundred guests at the Hilton McLean Tyson’s Corner hotel in Northern Virginia, but the results were favoring Republican Glenn Youngkin.
“I’m really anxious,” a staffer privately told The Washington Times around 8:30 p.m.
Mr. McAuliffe is down by 8 points as of 10 p.m. to Mr. Youngkin, who remained ahead throughout the night.
Mr. McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014 to 2018, is banking on a strong turnout from his Democratic base, as well as independent voters.
Earlier in the night, Mr. McAuliffe’s team alerted the press that they expected Mr. Youngkin to be ahead early in the night because of ballots counted in “smaller, rural, southwest counties.”
They added that there were delays in Fairfax County, one of the bluest bastions in the state.
Dave Wasserman, an editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, called the race for Mr. Youngkin earlier Tuesday night.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
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