Only after Republican Glenn Youngkin won the race for governor in Virginia on Tuesday did ABC feel like doing some real journalism and go into the commonwealth to speak with parents and Democrats that swung for the other party this time around. In a Nightline report, those parents spelled out how they trusted Youngkin with their children’s education and that their opposition to Critical Race Theory was not because they were racist.
But before they got to examining what drove Virginia parents to the polls, correspondent Stephanie Ramos had to squeeze in the prescribe McAuliffe campaign talking points smearing Youngkin as an extremist:
Now, Youngkin, he could attribute two things to his win, to his victory. He managed to get the endorsement from former President Donald Trump while keeping his distance. And he also hit on cultural hot-button issues. For instance, speaking out against Critical Race Theory, and also transgender rights in schools, and these were issues that riled up enthusiasm from voters across the state of Virginia.
Ramos’s comments explicitly dragged those who voted for him into the mud as well.
Yet, the report from Kenneth Moton essentially deflated Ramos’s argument. “Youngkin, a political newcomer and former private equity executive, beat McAuliffe, a former governor of the state, by appealing to voters by Sondra Davis, suburban mother of three, and parents like her,” he said.
Davis was a life-long Democratic voter who broke for Youngkin. Moton ran down her voting record over the last several cycles to establish her credentials (Click “expand”):
MOTON: Life-long Democrat. In '08, you voted for?
DAVIS: Obama.
MOTON: '12?
DAVIS: Obama.
MOTON: '16?
DAVIS: Love Hillary.
MOTON: And then '20?
DAVIS: Definitely Biden.
“But this year, she's an enthusiastic supporter of the Republican candidate,” he reported. And her driving issue was education. “Even though I'm a Democrat, I'm going to support Glenn Youngkin this year because I believe that he's going to put our children first,” she told him.
She went on to explain how her kids suffered with remote learning: “That's the only topic, when you're a mother. You want them to be able to go to school and get an education that's high-quality. (…) They sat behind a computer trying to learn things that were impossible to learn online, like calculus and algebra. And my son only learned 40 percent of his algebra class curriculum.”
After noting that Davis was trying to recall her local school board because they refused to listen to parents, and he highlighted a conversation he had with women from a group called Dems for Glenn. And they too were driven by the issue of education:
MOTON: You all made the switch, essentially, to Republican for Youngkin. Why?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: He is willing to listen to parents. And he understands that schools, and parents are an important topic this time around.
MOTON: What are the number one issues for you?
[Multiple women saying “education”]
MOTON: Everybody, education? That’s, the number one issue?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: Yes.
Moton then showed the infamous debate where Democrat Terry McAuliffe flashed his contempt for parental rights in indication. He also spoke with those women about Youngkin’s promise to do away with CRT in Virginia schools, and they explained to him that it wasn’t about race or racism to them:
MOTON: For you, it's not a black/white issue, though?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 4: We have people in our group that are different ethnicities. I mean, we came together, different religions, different political parties. The social justice stuff is just secondary.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: Yeah, I just want to make sure my kinds are reading—
Because NewsBusters is based in Northern Virginia, that’s when the local ABC affiliate broke in to show Youngkin’s victory speech. But Moton seemed to be going in a good direction. Although, he may have pushed the lie that CRT wasn’t taught in Virginia school.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Nightline
November 3, 2021
12:41:42 a.m. Eastern(…)
STEPHANIE RAMOS: Juju, you can hear the crowd behind me here at campaign headquarters for Glenn Youngkin. They are excited. And we have seen this excitement, heard this excitement, for the last several hours. We are expecting Glenn Youngkin to take the stage, but he will be Virginia's newest governor.
Now, Youngkin, he could attribute two things to his win, to his victory. He managed to get the endorsement from former President Donald Trump while keeping his distance. And he also hit on cultural hot-button issues. For instance, speaking out against Critical Race Theory, and also transgender rights in schools, and these were issues that riled up enthusiasm from voters across the state of Virginia.
(…)
12:44:02 a.m. Eastern
KENNETH MOTON: Youngkin, a political newcomer and former private equity executive, beat McAuliffe, a former governor of the state, by appealing to voters by Sondra Davis, suburban mother of three, and parents like her.
SONDRA DAVIS: This is Todd, he's 20 now.
MOTON: Life-long Democrat. In '08, you voted for?
DAVIS: Obama.
MOTON: '12?
DAVIS: Obama.
MOTON: '16?
DAVIS: Love Hillary.
MOTON: And then '20?
DAVIS: Definitely Biden.
MOTON: But this year she's an enthusiastic supporter of the Republican candidate.
But in the governor's race this time?
DAVIS: I voted for Glenn Youngkin. Early. As fast as I could.
MOTON: Was this tough for you to vote for Glenn Youngkin?
DAVIS: Not at all. I knew 100% that that's what I would do.
MOTON: Even appearing in one of his campaign ads.
DAVIS: Even though I'm a Democrat, I'm going to support Glenn Youngkin this year because I believe that he's going to put our children first.
MOTON: Her single issue, education.
DAVIS: That's the only topic, when you're a mother. You want them to be able to go to school and get an education that's high-quality.
MOTON: Like tens of thousands of students across the state, Davis’s sons endured almost a full year of remote high school during the pandemic.
DAVIS: They sat behind a computer trying to learn things that were impossible to learn online, like calculus and algebra. And my son only learned 40 percent of his algebra class curriculum.
MOTON: She and parents like her around the country are deeply angry at their local school boards and channeled that anger into political action. On election day, Davis, who voted early, was at the polls at 6:00 A.M., encouraging people to recall the school board.
Why has this movement had such a groundswell?
DAVIS: Because we've been ignored by the school boards. We're supporting a man who listens to us. And what our children need at this point in time.
MOTON: These women are part of a group called Dems for Glenn.
You all made the switch, essentially, to Republican for Youngkin. Why?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: He is willing to listen to parents. And he understands that schools, and parents are an important topic this time around.
MOTON: What are the number one issues for you?
[Multiple women saying “education”]
MOTON: Everybody, education? That’s, the number one issue?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: Yes.
MOTON: Youngkin relentlessly campaigned on the issue.
GLENN YOUNGKIN: We decide that we in fact are going to be in charge of our children's education!
MOTON: While McAuliffe was perceived by voters like Davis to be indifferent, that feeling reinforced by this blunder at a debate in September.
TERRY MCAULIFFE: I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.
MOTON: When he said that phrase, that sentence, in the debate, what did you think?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: Ugh. It was so dismissive. And upsetting.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: We are just moms that wanted our kids to go did school. And wanted them to learn. It's really that basic.
MOTON: Virginia has also been ground zero in the roiling debate over teaching about race and racism in public schools. And efforts by some districts to make education more inclusive.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 3 (at a school board meeting): Using diversity and inclusion on your page while propagating division and hate makes you a fraud.
MOTON: School board meetings in places like Loudoun County have devolved into bitter fights.
CROWD: Shame on you, shame on you!
MOTON: Tearing communities apart.
For you, it's not a black/white issue, though?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 4: We have people in our group that are different ethnicities. I mean, we came together, different religions, different political parties. The social justice stuff is just secondary.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: Yeah, I just want to make sure my kinds are reading--
[Local affricate cuts in for Youngkin’s victory speech]
