Live coverage: Election night 2021

We’re now getting into the latter part of our Election Night coverage, and here is where we stand:

• It’s appearing like it will be an unambiguously bad night for Democrats in Virginia, where it looks like they will narrowly lose all three statewide offices, as well as control over the state’s lower chamber, the House of Delegates.
• In New Jersey, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy leads Republican Jack Ciattarelli by a 51-49 margin. Which seems very narrow, until you realize that two of the best counties for Republicans in the state (Ocean and Monmouth) have reported significant returns, while the balance of the blue-leaning areas have not.
• Democrats have already picked off a GOP-held mayoralty in St. Petersburg, FL, while maintaining their hold on the mayor’s office in Manchester, NH. In a surprising result, the write-in campaign for incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in Buffalo appears to be leading Democratic nominee India Walton, who won the Democratic primary over Brown in a huge upset earlier this year.

VIRGINIA: If there is a thin gold lining to what has largely been a “blech” night for Democrats in Virginia, it is this: the state Senate, in the middle of its four year cycle, was not up tonight. If, as trends indicate, the Democrats lose the Governor’s race and control over the House of Delegates, they will maintain a check on Glenn Youngkin and unchecked GOP power.