On a major night of elections across the United States on Tuesday, the Republican Glenn Youngkin claimed an unexpected victory over his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, to win the governor’s race in Virginia.

As the night went on, it became clear that the contest in Virginia was not a singular event — Republicans were doing well in several unlikely places.

What do the results tell us about the current direction of American politics?

Guest: Alexander Burns, a national political correspondent for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• Reeling from a barrage of unexpected losses, an array of Democrats have pleaded with President Biden and his party’s lawmakers to address the quality-of-life issues that plagued their candidates in Tuesday’s elections.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.