As a republican, I would be very confused how to interpret a +5 mcauliffe win.
Yes, it would be an under performance from 2020 president for dems, but would be on par with 2016, which wouldn't be much evidence of a red wave in 2022.
This is a weird take. Wave environments/elections don’t hit states equally hard, especially those as inflexibly blue as VA. Was McAuliffe and other Democrats winning VA in 2013 (first time since 1973 that the President's party won the governorship in the state) a good sign for national Democrats?
Democrats could easily sweep VA and still lose the far more competitive group of states that is NV/NH/PA/WI/MI/AZ/etc. (and the House with it).
