2021 Virginia gubernatorial election



The 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2021, concurrently with the New Jersey gubernatorial election, the lieutenant gubernatorial election, and other state and local elections. Incumbent Democrat Terry McAuliffe was elected in a tight race against Republican Glenn Youngkin with 50.28% of the vote and a 2.90% margin of victory.

Background
Virginia did not allow candidates to run for two consecutive terms as governor, but did allow candidates to run for non-consecutive terms. Taking advantage of this, Terry McAuliffe, who served in the office from 2014 to 2018, was able to run again.

Virginia, historically a Republican state, had turned into a swing state and then a Democratic-leaning state from the 2000s to the 2020s. President Joe Biden won the state by a 10% margin in 2020, the best performance for any Democratic presidential candidate in the state since 1944; however, Biden's unpopularity in late 2021 enabled Republicans to make in-roads in this gubernatorial election, which was won by a significantly closer margin of 3%.