UPDATE:
After he initially made it sound like he would be riding out a painful election loss at home with his family on Tuesday night, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe's campaign suddenly announced he was en route to his campaign's Election Night party to deliver remarks some 90 minutes after the race was called by Decision Desk and Townhall.
"We've still got a lot of votes to count because every single Virginian deserves to have their vote counted," a defiant Terry McAuliffe said claiming he's been holding seven to ten events per day for the last 328 days. Omitted from his remarks were the multiple rallies — including one in Virginia Beach — he pulled out of in the final stretch of the campaign.
No concession from McAuliffe. pic.twitter.com/Euib1oAdPj
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 3, 2021
McAuliffe thanked his family, campaign staff, and volunteers before saying "let's count all these votes." He then ticked off a list of priorities including "a woman's right to choose" and "quality affordable healthcare" of which he promised he would continue "that fight tonight and every day going forward," despite the race being called against him.
ORIGINAL POST:
On Tuesday evening as Virginia election results poured in and predictions of a McAuliffe victory from the mainstream media, President Biden, and virtually every Democrat fell apart in less than 90 minutes, it became clear the Democrat contender had seen the writing on the wall already.
.@TerryMcAuliffe is watching results from his home tonight with his family. He sends a note to supporters, saying: “When the results of this election come in — win or lose — we can rest assured that we did everything we can to create the future that we want.”
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) November 2, 2021
It was reported roughly 30 minutes after polls closed across the Commonwealth that Terry McAuliffe had sent a "note" to his supporters to let them know that he wouldn't even appear at his own campaign's Election Night event. According to CNN's likely reluctant reporting, his cowardly missive to those who'd supported his candidacy said, in part:
"It’s official — this race is over. The last polls in Virginia have closed, and now we wait for all the votes to be counted…
“No matter what happens tonight, I am blown away by what this grassroots team has been able to accomplish…
“So when the results of this election come in — win or lose — we can rest assured that we did everything we can to create the future that we want.”
Seemingly unwilling to face his own supporters after running a dishonest campaign that failed to make a convincing case to Virginia's voters, McAuliffe was at home. Not at his campaign's event to thank his financial benefactors, volunteers, or those who put their lives aside to work on his campaign.
It's unsurprising for McAuliffe — a Clinton lackey — that he would start off the night by taking a page out of fellow loser Hillary Clinton's Election Night playbook. After all, in 2016, Hillary Clinton also left her supporters and the media of the world waiting at New York City's Javits Center for hours as Donald Trump's victory became apparent.
Then, after being in hiding for more than three hours, McAuliffe announced he would in fact speak Tuesday night in remarks slated to begin shortly after 10:00 p.m.
Just got word @TerryMcAuliffe will be coming out in 10 minutes. He’s expected to speak when he arrives
— Jackie DeFusco (@Jackie8News) November 3, 2021
This is a breaking story and may be updated.