CNN anchor and election night host Jake Tapper could barely contain his surprise Tuesday evening as it became clear that Democrat Terry McAuliffe would not be victorious in his bid for a second stint as Virginia’s governor.
The network’s election coverage kicked off before polls had closed in the state. Republicans watching across the country didn’t feel entitled to a major victory, but polling had offered a lot of hope that Republican Glenn Youngkin would win.
Within minutes of the polls closing, positive signs for the conservative political outsider were apparent. Youngkin took a lead that he would never relinquish.
It was obvious by 10 p.m. ET that McAuliffe was going to lose, seriously underperforming his Democratic successor, current Gov. Ralph Northam, in the 2017 election.
CNN’s John King referenced his interactive map all night, and it revealed just how poor McAuliffe was doing — especially in Virginia Beach and Suffolk County. But as King at one point showed viewers and Tapper how perilous things were for McAuliffe, the left-wing host could only react with shock.
“Just about everywhere, Terry McAuliffe is underperforming Joe Biden [from 2020],” King explained to Tapper. “So you say, ‘OK, that’s not fair. That’s a presidential year. Is he underperforming Ralph Northam?’
“I began the night saying he can. Ralph Northam won by eight, nine points [in 2017]. … So, Terry McAuliffe can underperform him, as long as he doesn’t underperform him by a ton.”
King then showed his colleague how bad it was for McAuliffe. The Democrat was underperforming Northam by a lot, and so the situation became crystal clear.
“Oh my God,” Tapper exclaimed as he and the rest of the establishment media’s worst fears were confirmed. It was must-see TV.
Jake Tapper is absolutely shocked to see some of these results.
“Oh my God.” pic.twitter.com/EBHlxGKpvt
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 3, 2021
The state of Virginia delivered President Joe Biden a blow that will be difficult to come back from politically. A state that voted for Biden by double digits in 2020 offered him a rebuke fewer than 10 months into his crisis-laden term in office.
Not only was Biden rebuked, but so was the establishment media. Voters rejected big money in state elections, Washington politics, critical race theory and people like Tapper.
Watching Tapper realize all of that was a small victory, and there have not been a lot of victories for conservatives over the last year.
We’ve watched our country’s border become the epicenter for a humanitarian crisis and an international laughingstock.
We’ve sat quietly as we’ve been called domestic terrorists and racists.
We’ve endured the bad White House hires, the horrid decision-making and the loss of American energy independence.
But on Tuesday, there was hope that America is not lost. That was on display not only in Virginia but also in New Jersey, where Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, according to conventional wisdom, should have cruised to victory. He didn’t, narrowly defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
None of what happened this week was supposed to. Reliably blue states aren’t supposed to give Democrats and their media sycophants anxiety less than a year into a new presidency — especially one that advertised it had put adults back in charge.
But Virginia voters handed power over to the GOP, and Democrats and their lapdog reporters can thank themselves a bit for galvanizing the electorate. Watching Tapper, one of those lapdogs, realize what was happening in real time was glorious.
Tuesday was filled with victories, both large and small. If Democrats and the establishment media don’t come back to reality — and we have no reason to believe that they will — there will be more big wins in 2022.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
