Dems were banking on Trump hatred to win Virginia, thinking they would repeat the success they enjoyed in 2020.  

what's even more true is McAuliffe shot himself in the foot with his comment about parents shouldn't have a say in their kids' schooling. Just dumb.

name, Trump, it reminds them how much better off they were then.  More freedoms, lower gas prices, lower food prices, low inflation, unemployment at an all-time low across every demographic until the pandemic hit.  When people are paying  double for their everyday consumables from what they were paying a year ago, it makes life under Trump look pretty damn good.  He may have been a foul human being from a personality standpoint, but he was a hell of a president who focused on working for the people.  If people continue to make comparisons of Biden to Trump, Republicans will continue to gain ground in 2022.  

Not to mention "until the pandemic hit." But you fail to point out Trump did his level WORST to deal with it. As with almost everything else that befell him in his disastrous Presidency, HE was the primary cause of his own problems.
And Youngkin won DESPITE being endorsed by Trump not BECAUSE of it. He literally ran away from Trump and never mentioned him. You can't blame the Dems for yelling "Trump, Trump, Trump" and failing to win, then turn around and say Youngkin won because of Trump. See how that works?
It's called a tautology.

California Democrats I know the tell me, "Thank god Trump got this vaccine rushed through.  It would have taken Biden three or four years from what we have seen so far."  Most voters don't blame Trump for the Pandemic, now that it was been conclusively proven that it came from Wuhan, China.  You forgot one important distinction.  In the early days when Trump start putting in travel restrictions and quarantines, the Dems did THEIR level-best to push back every step of the way.  We all remember Nancy policy going to SF Chinatown in February and telling people through the news media to come on down, you don't need a mask, and its safe to be there. Likewise, Cuomo telling New Yorkers that its okay for them to go to their favorite restaurants and bars, because New Yorkers are "tougher" than other people.  Biden called him racist for halting flights from China to the US.  You can spin it anyway you want, but these archived videos of the Dems trying to undermine Trumps efforts in the early going are still on the internet.  

How do you know "most voters don't blame Trump for the Pandemic?" Besides, we have his own words to Woodward that he lied to us about how virulent and deadly the virus was.
And who said there was any real doubt the virus came from Wuhan? But in fact, it came to NY from ITALY (having traveled there from Wuhan) when there were NO restrictions on travel from there.
As for Dems "undermining" Trump's efforts at the beginning, BULLSHIT. First of all, very few of them did. Secondly, Trump HIMSELF was undermining taking Covid seriously, telling people, "It's just like the flu" and "It will be gone by Easter" and refusing to be seen wearing a mask.

Just today, OPEC+ (OPEC plus Russia) said no to an increased production request. Biden is considering selling oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve to drive prices down.

Had McAuliffe just said "There isn't going to be any book banning in our schools" 75% off the public would have been with him, or at the very least, it wouldn't have come across as more of an innocuous statement. So the good news moving forward is that Democrats will be (hopefully) more careful with how they speak as words do have meaning.

Definitely think the smart Dems will take the messaging lesson to heart. Seems some of the pundits over at MSNBC & CNN are still in denial.

Nails it perfectly with two precise and accurate posts. Limp Junk and Gollum go FULL LAFFY in their responses with one Exception where Nicky says Biden might sell oil from the strategic reserve. If this happens it will be one of the VERY few positives that Biden has come up with. This makes me think Edith Wilson or some other puppeteer is actually deciding this.

I have seen David Axelrod and James Carville be quite tough on the Democrats messaging and lack of congressional successes but I am sure some on my side don't get it. The good news is that we have a year and things will be much different then. I can't guarantee they will be better but at least we should have some new laws we can run on that will bring  comfort to many struggling  Americans.  
I will give Youngkin some credit here. It wasn't widely reported but he ran a TV ad pushing for a temporary roll back of taxes on food/gocerries. Now I dont think that alone would make that much difference to the average Virginian, it does signify he "gets it" and is doing something to try and alleviate some pain caused by runaway inflation. It wasn't only about education in VA as economic issues was the #1 issue there based on exit polls.

I love Carville and wish he was running messaging for the Dems. I also think Youngkin ran a smart race. Smart, but dishonest. Then again, what politician IS honest?
McAuliffe, like Clinton, ran a stupid race and lost.