But Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, said any changes may not go over well in reliably blue Fairfax County — where 65 percent of voters chose Terry McAuliffe (D) over Youngkin this fall. “No matter what he does with TJ, he will make enemies,” Farnsworth said. “Fairfax County voters in particular are going to have very little patience for a Republican governor’s dictates.”

What could Glenn Youngkin as governor actually do to alter admissions at TJ? (Washington Post)

The 2021 election results made clear that “the tide goes in and the tide goes out” in Virginia, observed Prof. Stephen Farnsworth of the University of Mary Washington. “You’re looking at an environment where this was a purple state that didn’t like Trump, so it looked kind of blue for a while. That tide made us think perhaps … that Virginia had changed in a fundamental way. This election was much more of a return to the norm.”

2021 Political Roundtable: Surfing Va.’s red wave (Virginia Business)

The migration of critical race theory from cable news programming to the campaign trail proved its popularity and resonance with voters, said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “It allowed people who were mad about a range of things about their local schools to connect with Youngkin’s desire for greater parental involvement," he said. "Some people might be mad about transgender issues, or some people might be mad about CRT or some people might be mad about COVID or masks. Whatever the issue, Youngkin’s got a ballot line where you can express your frustrations."

How critical race theory went from conservative battle cry to mainstream powder keg (USA Today)