Stephen Farnsworth, a political analyst at the University of Mary Washington, wondered whether Democrats, while facing inhospitable national conditions, find Youngkin a source of enthusiasm for their legislative candidates that they failed to muster for Terry McAuliffe et al. Farnsworth suggested a possible voter backlash to Youngkin, given that the imprecise, seemingly centrist stances of the campaign are giving way to an edgier, more visible conservatism.
