How Glenn Youngkin Won — and Terry McAuliffe Lost — This Grassroots Black Group’s Endorsement
October 20, 2021 1:27 PM
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/how-glenn-youngkin-won-and-terry-mcauliffe-lost-this-grassroots-black-groups-endorsement/
In 2017, the Hampton Roads Black Caucus endorsed Democrat Ralph Northam for governor. Four years before that, the group threw its support behind another Democrat, Terry McAuliffe.
This year, for the first time in its history, the HRBC made headlines when it announced that by a simple majority vote of its membership, Republican Glenn Youngkin had secured its endorsement over McAuliffe, who is seeking a rare second term as governor four years after leaving office.
In a statement touting the HRBC’s support, Youngkin professed to be “incredibly humbled and honored to have the support of the Hampton Roads Black Caucus.”
“Terry McAuliffe has hurt Black Virginians by turning his back on our schools and children, making our communities less safe, and causing the cost of living to explode,” he went on to argue.
While heralded by the Youngkin campaign, the endorsement also resulted in derision and accusations from state Democrats that the HRBC was a Republican front group. One member of the Greater Hampton Roads Black Democrats said that “to use the name Hampton Roads Black Caucus… I’m not going to use fake news. I’m not going to use misinformation. I’m going to use lies.”
But the group has not only endorsed Democrats in the past, they did so alongside their Youngkin endorsement. In seven of the 18 House of Delegates races the HRBC issued endorsements in, Democrats got the nod, including in very close contests such as incumbent Democrat Alex Askew’s in the 85th district…..