Election Day 2021: What to watch as Americans hit the polls

Tuesday marks Election Day successful the U.S., and astir the country, Americans volition deed the polls.

Tuesday's races are highlighted by a contentious gubernatorial contention successful Virginia and peculiar elections successful Ohio. Here's what to ticker arsenic polls adjacent this evening.

Race for politician successful Virginia

In what could beryllium a bellwether predetermination for the 2022 midterms, Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are facing disconnected successful a contention that is coming down to the wire.

McAuliffe and Youngkin are moving to regenerate Democrat Ralph Northam, arsenic Virginia prohibits governors from seeking consecutive presumption successful office.

McAuliffe is simply a known commodity successful Virginia, arsenic helium served arsenic politician anterior to Northam from 2014 to 2018. He easy won the Democratic primary, cruising to a triumph implicit chap Democrat Jennifer Carroll Foy.

But portion McAuliffe has the sanction designation of a erstwhile governor, polling shows his contention with Youngkin is simply a virtual toss-up. Youngkin has rallied blimpish enactment by making acquisition the absorption of his run — peculiarly erstwhile it comes to how nationalist educators thatch astir the past of contention relations successful the U.S.

Should Youngkin prevail, he'd beryllium conscionable the 2nd Republican to triumph a gubernatorial predetermination successful Virginia since 1998 and the archetypal since 2010.

Race for politician successful New Jersey

In the Garden State, Democrat Phil Murphy is seeking his 2nd word arsenic New Jersey's governor. He's facing disconnected against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who faces an uphill conflict if helium plans to crook New Jersey red.

A canvass from Monmouth University past week recovered that Murphy holds an 11-point pb implicit Ciattarelli.

While 5 of the past six New Jersey governors person been Democrats, nary of the erstwhile 4 Democrats that preceded Murphy served much than 4 years successful office. The lone Republican that was elected successful that span, Chris Christie, served arsenic politician from 2010 to 2018.

Ohio peculiar elections

Two Congressional seats are up for grabs successful Ohio, though polls bespeak that it's improbable that the seats volition alteration enactment control.

In Ohio's 15th territory — an country spanning suburban confederate Columbus into the agrarian southeastern portion of the authorities — Republican Mike Carey holds a comfy lead implicit Democrat State Rep. Allison Russo. The 2 are moving to regenerate Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, who stepped down successful May to tally Ohio's Chamber of Commerce.

In the Cleveland area, Democrat Shontel Brown and Republican Laverne Gore are squaring disconnected successful Ohio's 11th territory to regenerate Marcia Fudge, who took implicit the Department of Housing and Urban Development this year.

Brown, a mean candidate, won a high-profile superior conflict earlier this twelvemonth implicit Nina Turner, who was endorsed by progressive lawmakers similar Bernie Sanders.

The territory is reliably Democratic. But should Gore prevail, it would shrink the Dems already slim borderline of power successful the House of Representatives.

New York's mayoral race

In the Big Apple, Democrat Eric Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa are facing disconnected to regenerate Bill de Blasio, who volition word retired connected Dec. 31.

Prior to moving successful politics, Adams served arsenic an NYPD bull for 22 years. He aboriginal served successful the New York State Senate and arsenic the borough president of Brooklyn.

Adams prevailed successful a chaotic superior predetermination that was marred by disorder implicit the city's caller ranked-choice voting system. Officials astatine 1 constituent retracted results from a circular of counting owed to a miscount.

Sliwa is champion known for founding the Guardian Angels, a unpaid nonprofit that makes citizen's arrests for convulsive crimes successful New York. Though politicians astatine archetypal distanced themselves from the group, they've since been endorsed by mayors similar Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg.

A poll released past week shows that Adams holds a ample pb implicit Sliwa.