Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, a former Hawaii congresswoman, celebrated former Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s loss to Republican Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, tweeting that his loss was “a victory for all Americans.”
“McAuliffe’s loss is a victory for all Americans,” Gabbard tweeted. “Why? Because it was a resounding rejection of efforts to divide us by race, the stripping of parental rights, and arrogant, deaf leaders. This benefits us all.”
Gabbard’s criticism of McAuliffe comes amid the former governor’s comments in which he boasted during the gubernatorial debate that parents should not play a role in their children’s education, a comment that likely contributed to his election loss.
McAuliffe also dismissed reports of the divisive “critical race theory” being taught in public schools, saying that it has never been taught in Virginia. However, a leaked document revealed that the Virginia Department of Education encouraged public schools to “embrace” critical race theory while McAuliffe was governor.
Governor-elect Youngkin defeated McAuliffe in the Nov. 2 Virginia gubernatorial election that many believed would be won by the Democrats. Media Democrats have cited “racism” as the reason for Youngkin’s victory, while ignoring McAuliffe’s past ignorant comments on race and public education.
CNN’s Brianna Keilar stated that Youngkin’s win was because of “dog whistle racism.” PBS’s Jonathan Capehart said that if Youngkin won, it was because his supporters were “tap-dancing with white supremacy.” MSNBC’s Joy Reid cited that Youngkin won as a result of his supporters’ “racial hysteria.”
Gabbard tweeted at Democrats that if they want to win elections in the future, they need to “stop calling millions of Americans dogs—only dogs respond to ‘dog whistles.'”
“My fellow Dems: if you want people to vote for you, stop calling millions of Americans dogs—only dogs respond to ‘dog whistles,'” Gabbard tweeted on Friday. “Stop trying to divide us by the color of our skin. End your open-border policy. Treat us all with the respect we deserve as Americans & God’s children.”
McAuliffe’s defeat to Youngkin in a state won by Joe Biden in 2020 by 10 points is seen as a referendum on the president’s policies that have encouraged open borders, implemented vaccine mandates, and increased inflation across the nation.