Tell me I'm wrong about the messages Virginia voters sent

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54. AGREED. And this was a win for the Republican Establishment in Virginia.

The Republican establishment won the Virginia election. I know some will vociferously disagree with that statement and argue that there is no Republican establishment anymore. But in this case, it's true.

Specifically, the Republican establishment in Virginia was tired of the far right element of the party in the state picking the party's nominees and then getting their asses handed to them because those candidates were anathema to suburban voters that might otherwise lean Republican -- candidates like Corey Stewart and Ken Cuccinelli. Amanda Chase -- who describes herself as Trump in Heels -- might well have been the Republican nominee for governor if there had been a primary in which several "establishment" Republicans split the vote. So the establishment Republicans successfully pushed to have the nominee selected by convention rather than primary in order to freeze out Chase. They ran a risk -- Chase might have launched a third party campaign and that probably would have given McAuliffe the victory (just as the breakaway Libertarian candidate helped McAuliffe win in 2013). But Chase played the role of good soldier (one wonders what she's been promised) and served as a link to Youngkin and the far right elements of the party. Meanwhile, the establishment Republicans had a candidate who looked and played the part of a anti-abortion, mainstream Republican with a business background and a pro-family message.

The trick for Virginia republicans is whether, going forward, they can continue to hold the far right and establishment pieces of their party together (just as one might wonder whether we Democrats can hold together the more progressive and more establishment portions of our party). I think we may have a better chance of doing so than they do, but time will tell.