Republican Glenn Youngkin has won the Virginia governor race, NBC News projected late on Tuesday night, defeating incumbent Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
Youngkin becomes the first Republican to win a statewide election in the state since 2009.
Virtually unknown to most Virginia voters at the beginning of the year, he previously served as the CEO of the private equity firm Carlyle Group before stepping down in 2020. The Republican won the state’s GOP convention in May, defeating six other candidates.
Youngkin was endorsed by former US President Donald Trump, who congratulated him in a statement on Tuesday night.
“Congratulations to Glenn Youngkin, a true America FIRST Patriot who had my complete and total endorsement for Virginia Governor,” he said.
“I would like to thank my BASE for coming out in force and voting for Glenn Youngkin. Without you, he would not have been close to winning,” added Trump, who also said, “This was a BIG WIN, but we can’t stop now. We need to send a message to the Left that we will SAVE AMERICA.”