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    Here's why the other 48 states care who's governor of Virginia and New Jersey

    As the first statewide tests of a new political reality, Virginia and New Jersey send a signal early in a presidential term — much as Iowa and New Hampshire do in a presidential campaign.
    by Ron Elving Oct 31, 2021 7 minutes
    Attendees listen to former President Barack Obama during an early vote rally for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Oct. 23 in Newark, N.J. That gubernatorial race and the one in Virginia are drawing national attention one year after the presidential election.

    On Tuesday, Virginia and New Jersey will have their Election Day and count votes that have already been coming in for governor and other state offices. Watching intently with widened eyes will be the national media, which by poll-closing time may seem wild with anticipation.

    Because these two states alone hold statewide elections one year after the presidential election, they have come to attract far more attention for these votes than they would otherwise receive.

    Ranked 11th and 12th in population nationally, they account for a little over 5% of the nation. But they punch above their weight as the first statewide tests of a president's popularity after a national election. Interest tends to be most acute when a new president is serving his first year in office.

    There has also been something of a tradition of these two states providing pushback on the party holding the White House and evidence of national political mood swings.

    How the pendulum has swung against presidents

    After the election of President Trump in 2016, Democrats won the governorships in both Virginia and New Jersey in 2017. Both winners ran as critics

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