Democrats Faced a Difficult Reality in the 2021 Election Cycle

Supporters of Democrat Terry McAuliffe watch as losing results trickle in on Election Night 2021. Source: Politico

Elections only ever seem to be important when voting for president or in the midterms, which only occur every two years. However, elections actually occur every year and these odd-year elections can be equally as important.

The 2021 elections proved vitally important to policy and provided insight to the 2022 midterm elections. The three most important elections this cycle were the New York City mayoral race, the Minneapolis referendum on “defunding” the police, and the Virginia gubernatorial race. The three races dealt with their own individual policy issues but they are all connected because they will provide insight to how voters will cast their ballots next November. 

New York City had an important mayoral race that resulted in the election of Eric Adams. Adams’ victory was historic in many ways, with the most notable being that he is only the second black mayor of New York City. Adams is also a former police captain and vehemently opposed to the “defund the police” movement. Instead, Adams wants to crack down on violent crime, as it has increased in New York City during the pandemic. Although Adams does not want to defund the police, he does want to improve police tactics and is in favor of improved training. This has put Adams at odds with the socialist movement, particularly the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). However, Adams defeated the DSA candidate, Cathy Rojas, in this race. Rojas’ defeat is important, as it is a potential sign that voters do not want a far-left candidate who supports policies such as defunding the police. The Democratic Party will need to learn from this race in order to understand which policies they need to run on for the 2022 midterms. 

“Defund the police” referendums were also on the ballot this year with the most watched vote being in Minneapolis. This vote was significant for a couple reasons: first, it is the city where George Floyd was killed and sparked numerous Black Lives Matter protests. Second, its result could represent public sentiment on the issue. In the referendum, voters were tasked with deciding whether or not to disband the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with the Department of Public Safety. Like New York City, Minneapolis has seen an increase in crime during the pandemic and this referendum would have eliminated the required minimum number of police officers. Furthermore, the elimination of a minimum number of officers would directly contradict Minnesota state law which requires an armed police officer to respond to certain calls. If Minneapolis no longer has officers, or at least no longer has enough armed officers, they would be violating state law. 

The referendum has been a point of controversy nationwide; however, it has been especially contentious in Minnesota —pitting Democratic leaders against one another. U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar supported the referendum, whereas Governor Tim Walz and Senator Amy Klobuchar both publicly denounced the referendum. Furthermore, in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo both expressed concerns about the lack of specifics in the Department of Public Safety. Both agree that there needs to be reform; however, they fear that the Department of Public Safety is not clear as to how it will absorb the responsibilities of the police department. 

Ultimately, the referendum failed with 56% of voters rejecting it. Additionally, many voters in North Minneapolis, which has a large black population, said that although they wanted to reform the police department, they do not want it to be abolished. Like the vote in New York City, the referendum vote is an important indicator to politicians, specifically those in the Democratic Party. Voters have indicated they are interested in police reform but not a complete defunding of the police. It is important that the Democratic Party understand this when campaigning in 2022 or else it could cost them some races. Support for this issue already cost the party seats during the 2020 election. 

The gubernatorial race in Virginia was by far the most publicized race of 2021 due to the fact that Republicans were not expected to win the state. In fact, Republicans have not won the governorship since 2009. However, Glenn Youngkin won the governorship over incumbent Terry McAuliffe in a state where Joe Biden won handedly just last year. Virginia has a history of voting against the party occupying the White House in its odd-year elections, but this election was different. Youngkin ran on a platform which mainly focused on parents’ right to be involved in their children’s education. This was due in large part to the rise of critical race theory and the fear parents have of it being taught to their children. Critical race theory is a movement focused on teaching about how American society and policy is constructed from a race-focused perspective. It has been highly controversial and a central issue in many campaigns. Nevertheless, Youngkin was able to best McAuliffe in the election. Youngkin’s election is important for both the Democratic and Republican parties because both can learn from it moving forward.  

For the Republicans, a notable takeaway is that Youngkin wom while maintaining his distance from Trump. Although Trump supported him, Youngkin did not embrace the endorsement and on a couple occasions failed to attend campaign events hosted by Trump for him. For Republicans, this could mean that they do not need to depend so much on Trump to win races. For Democrats, Youngkin’s election signified that critical race theory is not a policy voters support. Considering Youngkin won the election by appealing to voters opposed to critical race theory being taught in schools, it might be more apparent to Democrats now that the issue is not popular among voters. However, the most important lesson might be that Biden is not popular. Indeed it is common for the next election to not favor the party in control of the White House; however, Biden won Virginia by more than 10 points in 2020. The fact that Democrats lost a decisively blue state to the Republicans should be concerning for them. If Virginia was able to switch after just one year, imagine what could happen next November in the midterms. Virginia acted as a litmus test, allowing both parties to gauge what could be expected next year, and right now it does not look good for Democrats. 

The 2021 elections have once again proven why all elections are important. These elections are essential in understanding what voters want and what they do not want. Both Republicans and Democrats will use the results in order to make adjustments for their campaigns next year.