Results are still unofficial in Virginia’s 2024 elections, though most votes have been reported across the commonwealth. Vice President Kamala Harris defeated former President Donald Trump in Virginia with roughly 51.6% of the popular vote, according to results the time this story was published.
Former Republican Del. David Ramadan, a professor at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government, gave VPM News his “basic analysis” of the nationwide results.
“One, once again, the polls missed the mark. Two, Harris faced a strong rejection from working class Americans across all races,” Ramadan said.
The former delegate said a Trump campaign strategy of emphasizing economic issues like inflation contributed to that “rejection.”
“They held Democrats responsible for that, and he sold them that he can make it better,” Ramadan added. “He's a businessman, he's a millionaire. ‘I can fix that.’ And that worked.”
Ramadan also said he wasn’t surprised by the winners in Virginia’s other federal races: No seats were flipped in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives.
But the margins were closer than he expected.
“This is a race that probably Tim Kaine could have won by 12 points if we didn't have that national sway to Donald Trump,” Ramadan said.
According to unofficial state election results, Kaine won by about 8 percentage points against Republican Hung Cao.
Ramadan said although Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin couldn’t deliver a win in Virginia to Trump, he could still be hoping the support pays dividends either through a Cabinet position or support in a 2026 Senate race (when Sen. Mark Warner’s seat is next up). Youngkin cannot run for governor again in 2025.
“In an open seat, he will have a good chance of becoming the next senator from Virginia. In a campaign against Mark Warner, it'll be very tough,” Ramadan said. “Is it doable? Probably.”
