I'm old enough to remember when Virginia was a red state. Good times.
It's sad that the DC rot has seeped so deep into that state. I don't think it's beyond salvation like California, but the trajectory is certainly heading in that direction. Everyone with a functioning brain knows that if the media were actually honest in their reporting, then this election would be a slam dunk for Youngkin, too.
I'm also old enough to remember that what Howard Dean did in his 2004 Presidential Bid was more than enough to fully end his political career, and literally all he did was scream and cheer weirdly at a rally. The fact that a governor running for re-election has had a history of literal black face, and has very recently said things like "Parents don't have the right to know what their kids are learning in school" WITHOUT immediate and obvious repercussions that would end his political career is both disheartening and frightening.
The fucking news media, man. As much as we can make fun of their low ratings, they still hold a lot of influence, and it's obviously the stranglehold that big tech has on the flow of information right now, too. It is absolutely modern-day fascism that the corporate media and big tech can withhold, bury, and censor information.
The poll numbers for Youngkin are most certainly encouraging, but sadly, I am not optimistic about Northern Virginia nor am I optimistic about the mail-in ballots. I can't help but think that the fix is already in. I'd like to be wrong. Virginia electing a GOP governor would be yuge in this current political climate.
As it stands, Virginia has a chance to become the next Florida (remember, Ron DeSantis fought election fraud in FL in the '18 Midterms), or it has a chance to become the next CA. Make no mistake: If McAwful wins, I anticipate the approval of permanent mail-in ballots, just like Gavin Newsom Patrick Bateman did after he "overcame" his recall.
EDIT: This is a lil' piece of good news. It's anecdotal, but here it is anyway ... I know quite a few people who are volunteering for Youngkin's campaign. All of them have told me that they've been able to get an influx of people to volunteer as poll watchers and to fight for election integrity. I've also been told that a lot of people who have volunteered for Youngkin are Gen Z people, as the whole education system is something that they've been negatively affected by. Makes me feel at least a little bit better about our future, no?
At the very least, it appears that Youngkin's campaign isn't ignoring the concerns of election integrity, like so many other GOP cunts have been doing over the past year.