
Why 'all eyes' will be on the Virginia suburbs this fall
CNN
Reassured by the results of California's gubernatorial recall election last week, Democrats now face tougher electoral tests this fall that will measure whether they can defend their most important political advance of the Donald Trump era.
Big gains in well-educated inner suburbs ringing the nation's major cities keyed all the Democratic victories throughout the Trump years, from their recapture of the House of Representatives in 2018 to President Joe Biden's win in 2020. Now Democrats face the challenge of preserving those advances without Trump directly on the ballot.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's decisive victory in the California recall election offered a positive sign, with partial results showing him matching or even exceeding his 2018 performance in the biggest suburban counties -- and significantly improving over his already strong 2018 showing with college-educated White voters, according to exit polls. But preserving the party's Trump-era gains with suburban voters may be tougher in the upcoming Virginia race to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.