Both Parties Await Election Result in Virginia, and What It Bodes for the Battles Ahead

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — During 1 of the astir hectic weeks of her speakership — arsenic she sought to unite her fractious enactment and corral 2 sweeping pieces of authorities — Nancy Pelosi made clip for a gathering successful her Capitol suite with a radical of Democratic lawmakers from New Jersey and Virginia bearing an urgent connection of their own.

They warned Ms. Pelosi that if the candidates for politician successful those 2 states, peculiarly erstwhile Gov. Terry McAuliffe successful liberal-leaning Virginia, were to suffer connected Tuesday, it could person a cascading effect connected the party, prompting Democrats to propulsion backmost from President Biden and his ambitious agenda, and possibly adjacent thrust immoderate to retirement.

Representative Gerald Connolly of Virginia said helium utilized the gathering past Tuesday to impulse Ms. Pelosi to walk the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which had already cleared the Senate, and to stock his alarm astir the party’s fortunes. “You don’t person to beryllium a front-liner to beryllium worried,” helium said, invoking the connection House Democrats usage to picture their astir politically at-risk incumbents.

Unable to flooded communal mistrust betwixt a radical of House progressives and Senate moderates, however, Ms. Pelosi pulled the nationalist works authorities from information hours aft Mr. Biden visited the Capitol connected Thursday, dashing the group’s hopes of delivering Mr. McAuliffe and different Democrats connected the ballot a triumph aft a two-month drumbeat of atrocious news.

The erstwhile Virginia politician and his apical aides, who person been pushing legislature and White House officials to walk the measure for implicit a month, were some stunned and infuriated, according to Democrats. They were amazed Ms. Pelosi had been forced to hold the ballot for the 2nd clip successful a month, baffled wherefore the president didn’t marque a much assertive propulsion and despairing astir the interaction of yet different circular of antagonistic stories from Washington.

“The past two-and-a-half months makes it look similar Democrats are successful disarray,” said Representative Filemon Vela, a Texas Democrat who has raised wealth for Mr. McAuliffe.

The races for politician successful Virginia and New Jersey that hap a twelvemonth aft the statesmanlike predetermination person agelong been the archetypal governmental somesthesia checks connected the caller White House and Congress, peculiarly among the election-deciding suburbanites truthful abundant successful some states. But seldom person contests traditionally fought implicit decidedly section issues been truthful interwoven with the nationalist governmental statement and, successful the lawsuit of Virginia, loomed arsenic truthful ample a portent for the aboriginal of some parties.

Mr. McAuliffe’s strategy of relentlessly linking his Republican rival, Glenn Youngkin, to Donald J. Trump represents the champion trial yet of however overmuch of a resistance the erstwhile president inactive exerts connected his enactment successful bluish and purple states. At the aforesaid time, Mr. Youngkin’s fancy footwork regarding Mr. Trump — avoiding his clasp without alienating him oregon his basal — and his attacks connected Mr. McAuliffe implicit the relation of parents successful schools volition bespeak if G.O.P. candidates tin sidestep Trumpism by drafting attraction to what they reason is Democratic extremism connected issues of contention and gender.

Far from specified aged standbys of statewide races arsenic spot taxes and teacher pay, the issues successful Virginia bespeak the country’s canyonlike polarization and what each enactment portrays arsenic the dire menace posed by the other.

To Republicans, Virginia represents the committedness of renewal, the accidental to rebuild their enactment successful a reasonably forbidding authorities — and without having to marque the hard prime of afloat embracing oregon rejecting Mr. Trump. Addressing supporters adjacent a farmer’s marketplace successful Old Town Alexandria Saturday morning, Mr. Youngkin said his triumph would nonstop “a daze question crossed this country.”

Suffering yet different nonaccomplishment here, though, would marque it wide to Republicans that they cannot proceed to hold their interior reckoning implicit the erstwhile president and that, adjacent successful exile, his unpopularity remains the party’s biggest impediment.

Because Mr. Biden carried the authorities by 10 points past year, and Mr. McAuliffe began the contention with an vantage befitting the erstwhile politician helium is, the astir important implications successful Virginia are for Democrats. The enactment is besides haunted by caller history: Their nonaccomplishment successful the 2009 Virginia governor’s contention — the past clip Democrats controlled the White House and some chambers of Congress — foreshadowed the party’s electoral wipeout the pursuing year.

Should Mr. McAuliffe suffer oregon hardly win, moderates volition request contiguous transition of the infrastructure bill. Liberals volition reason that the Democratic Party, and ideology itself, are successful specified a parlous authorities that they indispensable propulsion done caller voting laws. And strategists crossed the party’s ideological spectrum volition beryllium made to contend with a governmental playing tract successful the midterm elections that stretches deeper into bluish America.

“We’re going to person to alteration our calculation of what’s a contention and look astatine the districts Trump lost,” said Rebecca Pearcey, a Democratic consultant. “Even if helium wins,” she added, referring to Mr. McAuliffe, “we’re going to person to reassess what the representation looks similar connected Wednesday, due to the fact that Tuesday is not going to beryllium a beauteous night.”

With Mr. Biden’s support ratings tumbling among independents acknowledgment to Covid-19’s summertime resurgence, the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and rising inflation, Democrats are besides bracing for further retirements among lawmakers who would alternatively not tally successful a recently redrawn territory oregon hazard ending their careers successful defeat.

Already, 3 House Democrats announced their departures earlier this month. Mr. McAuliffe’s decision successful a authorities Mr. Biden truthful easy won would apt accelerate that exodus due to the fact that lawmakers volition chalk it up to the president’s unpopularity. “We’re going to spot a batch much by the extremity of the year,” predicted Ms. Pearcey.

Ms. Pelosi is acutely alert of these formation risks — she herself is one — and has privately expressed interest astir the fallout from Mr. McAuliffe’s race. Last week, she told a Democratic workfellow that the House’s nonaccomplishment to walk the infrastructure measure could imperil Mr. McAuliffe, according to a lawmaker acquainted with the exchange.

A longtime person of Mr. McAuliffe’s, Ms. Pelosi headlined a fund-raiser for him past week and has personally fixed him $250,000 and raised implicit 3 times arsenic much. She has besides spoken with him by telephone repeatedly astir negotiations implicit the infrastructure bill.

A backlash adjacent twelvemonth whitethorn beryllium inevitable successful portion because, arsenic 1 longtime Democratic lawmaker noted, the enactment often suffers astatine the polls aft it pushes an expansive docket of the benignant that legislature Democrats are painstakingly negotiating.

“Somebody reminded me: In ’66, aft each we did successful ’65, we got beat,” Representative Robert C. Scott of Virginia said, referring to the losses Democrats incurred aft passing overmuch of the Great Society. “We passed Obamacare and we got beat.”

Much arsenic the protracted statement implicit the Affordable Care Act successful 2009 and 2010 overshadowed their economic-recovery authorities then, Democrats this twelvemonth person been much focused connected negotiating their towering duplicate bills than connected promoting their earlier Covid alleviation legislation.

While Democratic lawmakers person dwelled astir exclusively connected the infrastructure measure and their broader societal payment and clime connection — matters connected which they person not reached statement — Americans extracurricular of Washington person grown impatient with the lingering microorganism and the soaring prices of goods.

“If you perceive to the Democratic speaking points, it’s each what we haven’t done,” said Mr. Scott, pointing retired that the kid taxation recognition enacted successful the Covid rescue program earlier this twelvemonth was often near unmentioned.

Mr. Vela, a mean who has demanded an infrastructure ballot since August, said a McAuliffe decision should punctual speedy transition of that bill, which passed the Senate with 69 votes. “Progressives should aftermath up and recognize that linking the 2 processes unneurotic was a immense mistake,” helium said, adding: “That’s from idiosyncratic who supports some bills.”

But galore connected the near judge that the party’s vulnerabilities, laid bare by the imaginable of decision successful Virginia, wherever they person not mislaid a statewide contention since 2009, lone underscore the request to scrap the Senate filibuster and propulsion done sweeping voting laws that could stave disconnected a disastrous 2022 and semipermanent nonaccomplishment of power.

“A adjacent contention successful Virginia would awesome conscionable however hard the midterms volition beryllium for Democrats and the urgency of passing ideology reform,” said Waleed Shahid, a spokesperson for the left-wing Justice Democrats who grew up successful Virginia.

Progressives were already unenthusiastic astir Mr. McAuliffe, a fixture of the enactment constitution and a erstwhile nationalist Democratic chairman, and they person been irritated that helium did not bash much this twelvemonth to assistance the party’s authorities lawmakers clasp onto the bulk they won successful the House of Delegates successful 2017.

“Whatever happens Tuesday, 1 acquisition we already cognize from Virginia is that we amended prioritize winning authorities legislatures similar our ideology depends connected it — due to the fact that it does,” said Daniel Squadron, who runs the States Project, which is dedicated to electing Democrats successful statehouses.

To Democrats successful Northern Virginia, who prospered successful the Trump years, determination is an particularly adjacent transportation betwixt what takes spot successful the nation’s superior and their seats.

Mr. Connolly recalled that astatine the Halloween parade past week successful Vienna, Va., a fistful of radical yelled astatine him to walk the infrastructure bill, a large quality-of-life contented successful his traffic-choked district. “It truly got my attention,” helium said.

Now, helium said, helium hopes it volition not instrumentality different high-profile nonaccomplishment successful his location authorities to get his party’s attention.

“If past is prologue,” helium said, “we cannot person a repetition of what happened successful 2009.”