Would Amanda Chase had won the election?

[Vice President Christian Man]

Amanda Chase, the outspoken state senator from Virginia was leading polls for the GOP nomination for governor, before losing the convention to Glenn Youngkin who won the general. If a primary was held and Chase won the primary, would she had been able to beat T-Mac?

[Roll Roons]

Good one.

[SnowLabrador]

Yes. McAuliffe lost because of the national environment, not because of his weaknesses as a candidate.

[JGibson]

T-Mac wins if he would've faced Amanda Chase.

[GregTheGreat657]

I'd say it would have been McAulliffe + 6

[progressive85]

Yes, I think it was a Republican year and that yes, she may have even gotten a higher turnout.  Virginia was never really a blue state - it's still a swing state, and I think that we Democrats did believe it was blue forever and it wasn't.  Also Terry was not a good candidate - he had already been Governor before and he was followed by a scandal-plagued Governor of the same party.  Tough time to be a Democrat.

[Roll Roons]

You people realize that Amanda Chase literally called for Trump to institute martial law in order to overturn the election?

Yeah, that sounds like a real winner in a Biden +10 state. People on here have serious brain worms.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

No

[Fuzzy Bear]

Probably not.

Youngkin won, in no small measure, because he, himself, was an OUTSTANDING candidate who ran a FLAWLESS campaign.  Candidate quality matters.  McAuliffe was not a terrible candidate, but he misread the electorate on the key issue of school curricula and parent's rights in general, and he's never been a guy who generated a lot of PERSONAL popularity.  Youngkin was incredibly likable, and his likability didn't fade over time. 

This sounds like pap, but there's something to being more likable than your opponent.  It's one reason I'm betting on DeSantis; despite being combative, he's VERY likable.