QUOTE OF THE DAY: ‘Whiteness Remains Undefeated’ in Virginia
The Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali has colorfully blamed Republican Glenn Youngkin’s shock win in the Virginia governor’s race on white supremacy.
THE QUOTE
“Whiteness remains undefeated. Let’s wait and see who those white suburban voters went for tonight in Virginia. Any guesses?” Ali tweeted Tuesday evening, with the race looking grim for Youngkin’s Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe.
Whiteness remains undefeated. Let's wait and see who those white suburban voters went for tonight in Virginia. Any guesses?
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) November 3, 2021
Other progressive journalists and media figures on Twitter chimed in with similar thoughts.
- “It’s not the messaging, folks. This country simply loves white supremacy,” said The Atlantic contributor Jemele Hill early Wednesday morning, after major outlets had called the race for Youngkin.
- A number of commentators blamed Virginia’s 15 percentage point swing to the GOP compared to 2020 on white women.
- “White women voters are footsoldiers of white supremacist patriarchy,” said feminist activist Mona Eltahawy.
NBC News exit polls found that while only 49% of white women in Virginia voted for Donald Trump in 2020, 57% went for Youngkin on Tuesday.
THE PUSHBACK
Conservatives, meanwhile, pushed back on the claim that “white supremacy” was responsible for Youngkin’s victory, with some citing exit polls that showed 54% of Hispanic Virginians voted Youngkin.
White women voters won Virginia for Gov. Youngkin AND Winsome Sears, the state's first black woman Lieutenant Gov. https://t.co/ODaXqiEjVA
— Emily Miller (@emilymiller) November 3, 2021
Others noted that white women voters on Tuesday also elected Virginia’s first black lieutenant governor, Winsome Sears, an immigrant, Republican and mother of three who served in the U.S. Marines.