The Virginia governor's race is a warning for Democrats

Plus: what's in and out of the budget plan, and Bannon in contempt [View this email online]( [NPR]( [Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams speaks during an Oct. 17 rally in Norfolk supporting Terry McAuliffe in his bid to reclaim the Virginia governor's office.]( Zach Gibson/Getty Images The Big Picture: Democrats fight apathy With their agenda in Washington stalled and President Biden’s poll numbers sagging, Democrats are [fighting a degree of apathy among their base](. "There are people who feel that the election doesn't matter,” said Geoffrey Guns, senior pastor at Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, Va. That's particularly true, he said, of younger Black Americans, who feel "it doesn't matter who gets elected, because nothing changes for them." That sentiment is part of the reason the race for governor of Virginia, which concludes Nov. 2, is close. For Democrats, who rely on a more diverse coalition than Republicans to win elections, it’s a warning flag. Across the country, Democrats often need strong support from nonwhite voters to do well. In Virginia, Latino and Asian Americans have doubled in population over the last 20 years but have been underrepresented at the polls in statewide elections, as they have in other places, as well. And just how important are nonwhite voters to Democrats’ hopes in Virginia? Consider that in 2013, when current Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe first ran for governor, he lost white voters by 20 percentage points, according to exit polls. But he got more than 90% of Black voters. They accounted for 1-in-5 voters, putting him over the top in an election decided by just 3 points. Nationally in 2020, Biden lost white voters by almost as big a margin — 17 points. But he made up for it, winning nearly 9-in-10 Black voters, two-thirds of Latinos and 61% of Asian Americans to win the popular vote by more than 7 million votes. The country is diversifying, but that’s no guarantee of Democratic success, advocates say, especially in off-year elections, and if Democrats don’t constantly stay engaged in nonwhite communities and people don’t feel the party's policies are paying off for them. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [Colin Powell testifies in a congressional hearing in 1990]( Mark Reinstein/Getty Images ICYMI: Top Stories Texas' near-total ban on abortions will remain in place: One of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation will stay on the books, for now, while [the Supreme Court reviews]( the statute's unusual enforcement scheme and whether the Department of Justice has the right to sue to block the law. What stays, and what gets cut, in the budget plan: Months of infighting have hampered [Democrats’ efforts to push through President Biden’s budget priorities](. Now the party has a new sense of urgency to get the sprawling domestic policy bill passed. House votes to hold Bannon in contempt: The U.S. House [voted this week to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in criminal contempt]( for refusing a subpoena over a probe into the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The vote was largely along party lines, but nine Republicans joined Democrats in approving the measure. Senate Republicans filibuster voting rights bill: Perhaps Democrats’ [last hope this year for a major voting rights bill was squashed]( by Republicans this week. The GOP filibuster worked to protect the voting restrictions that many Republicans have enacted at the state level across the country. Colin Powell, the nation’s first Black secretary of state, dies: Powell, who was 84 years old and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, [died on Monday of complications from COVID-19](. Powell had been treated in recent years for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that can suppress the body's immune system, and he had Parkinson's disease. Powell’s death highlighted how [preexisting conditions can complicate breakthrough infections](. Vaccines are still considered safe and extremely effective at protecting against serious illness and death from COVID-19. — Alana Wise, NPR political reporter --------------------------------------------------------------- [Zac Wyrick, who is training to become a firefighter, stands in front of the Dayton Fire Department.]( Tamara Keith/NPR Going Deeper An abundance of local funds: Dayton, Ohio, [is spending some of its COVID-19 aid money in unexpected ways]( — and it’s not alone. Cities and states all over the country found their budgets fared better than expected through the pandemic, and now they’re looking at new ways to spend the billions allotted to help them. Why people are quitting: A record number of Americans are quitting their jobs in what has been deemed “The Great Resignation.” The trend seems at least partly due to how our personal and collective experiences shape our economic choices. [NPR’s Planet Money digs into the research here](. (You can also [subscribe to Planet Money’s newsletter]( for more stories like this.) — Dana Farrington, NPR Politics digital editor --------------------------------------------------------------- [Christopher C., 17, stands with his skateboard in Chinatown, Manhattan, N.Y.]( Eric Lee How these Asian American teens see themselves Photographer Eric Lee, who has long examined his own identity as an Asian American, photographed 14 Asian American teenagers in New York City and spoke with them about how they were navigating a pandemic that has seen their communities blamed, killed and ridiculed. [Read their stories here](. — Dana Farrington, NPR Politics digital editor [See the photos]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? 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