‘Democrats have to come to terms with wokeism’: Pundits weigh in on disaster result for the left in Virginia

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Besides racial divisions, which undeniably came to the fore as Mr Youngkin explicitly attacked critical race theory and “wokeness” as supposed enemies of the American way of life, there is also the matter of the Democrats’ failure so far to get Joe Biden’s agenda through Congress, something for which moderates and progressives are already blaming each other. “The party’s inability to pass Biden’s economic program has already done a lot of damage,” wrote commentator Zachary D Carter. “Since March, the consistent message voters have been getting from Democrats in Washington has been ‘we think this is very important to your family, and we can’t get it done’.” Others, however, pointed to some structural factors that made the election a tough one for Democrats regardless of the internal dynamics of the race. The difference is Republicans are mobilized even more.” Some pundits also theorised that the result could signal deeper problems for Democrats that go beyond what’s happened in the off-year election cycle.