“The House is probably a toss-up but the playing field is a little better for Democrats in the Senate,” journalist Kyle Kondik said. The RNC’s Drew McKissick said that getting more early voters gives the party “more time to focus on what we call low-propensity Republicans,” which are Republicans who “you have to poke them with a sharp stick a few times to get them to” vote.
Early voting has become a central issue in the Virginia legislature election, which is set to conclude on Tuesday and determine whether Gov. Glenn Youngkin will have a Republican majority to pass legislation.
The state Senate is currently controlled by Democrats, 22-18, with the state House controlled by Republicans, after winning 52 seats in 2021 to Democrats’ 48, according to Ballotpedia. Republicans gained control of the state House in 2021, when Youngkin won the governorship, Winsome Earle-Sears won the election for lieutenant governor, and Jason Miyares won the attorney general race.
The Republican Party is encouraging its voters, who have historically opted to vote in person on Election Day, to take a cue from Democrats and vote early in the Virginia election.
Republican National Committee co-chairman Drew McKissick told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show on Wednesday that the party’s campaign of embracing absentee balloting, early in-person voting and legal ballot harvesting is on its “test drive” in this year’s elections.