(CNN) -- Republican Glenn Youngkin's projected victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race on Tuesday removed any doubt: Democrats' slim congressional majorities are in grave jeopardy in the midterm elections of next year.

Former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe hoped that the continued unpopularity of former President Donald Trump would halt the swing against a new president and his party that is almost always held in Virginia and often continues into midterm elections the following year.

Instead, Youngkin drafted a playbook for Republicans to navigate around Trump, keeping the former president's base energized while also winning back a portion of suburbanites who had fled the party during Trump's tenure .

While the New Jersey gubernatorial race remains unresolved, with ballots yet to be counted, its head-to-head status Tuesday night came as another surprise to Democrats who were hoping Gov. Phil Murphy would make it to the polls. re-election. The close New Jersey race, which received far less national attention than the Virginia race, could be an even more ominous indicator for Democrats that the political environment, at least for the moment, has shifted a lot in favor of Republicans.

And in cities across the country, Democrats dominated mayoral races, according to CNN projections, but offered mixed messages about the party's direction: Progressives scored historic victories in Boston and Pittsburgh, while a moderate champion he was crowned in New York City.

Minneapolis rejected a measure to reform its police department in a closely watched vote that showed backlash against a protest movement that followed the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a police officer.

Here are eight takeaways from the 2021 election:

Virginia had trended blue...and then came Tuesday

Until Tuesday, Democrats ruled Virginia. The party was in complete control of the House of Representatives, and President Joe Biden had won there by 10 percentage points just a year ago.

McAuliffe, who was governor from 2014 to 2018, tried to get his old job back by painting Youngkin, a milder-mannered former business executive, as a Trump in a wool vest. Instead, Youngkin accomplished a remarkable feat: He kept Trump's base, while deeply tapping the Democrats' advantage with suburban voters who still don't like Trump.

Youngkin won 17% of voters who said they disapproved of Trump, exit polls showed, compared with McAuliffe who won just 5% of those who approved of the former president. Youngkin also proved more likable than Trump: 52% said they viewed him favorably, compared to 42% for Trump and 45% for McAuliffe.

While McAuliffe tried to turn the race into a national referendum, Youngkin focused much more on local issues, pledging to repeal the grocery tax, suspend the gas tax and revive the state's economy.

Perhaps most importantly, he took advantage of the brewing culture war over education. He appealed to conservatives steeped in the right-wing media ecosystem by vowing to ban critical race theory, which is not taught in Virginia schools; end coronavirus-related school closures and mask mandates; and launch an expansive charter school program. He also won over moderates by promising an education budget with money for teacher raises, a central theme in his television ads, and special education.

That turned into a coalition that could carry Youngkin to victory.

Republicans can focus on the economy and education

Republicans across the country were watching Virginia for lessons that could be applied to the gubernatorial, House, and Senate races in next year's midterm elections, and some party operatives told them they credited Youngkin for showing what could work.

Youngkin's personal wealth, which cannot be easily replicated, helped. He was able to define himself in television commercials before McAuliffe could transform him into "Trumpkin."

But his message, centered on the statewide steps he would take on crime, the economy and education, could work across the map, a Republican strategist said, particularly if Biden continues to deal with a weak economy and a stagnant Capitol. .

In addition to defining himself early, Youngkin seized on the economic woes that arose during the Biden presidency, and he did so without reminding voters of Trump. Education was a particularly important issue in Virginia for Youngkin, the strategist said; other issues, such as immigration, could play that role in other states.

Of course, the biggest question for Republicans in 2022 may be whether candidates in the Youngkin mold, with the ability to build their own brands separate from Trump, can survive primary races against Trump's fierce allies that they could be swept away by their loyalty to the former president in general elections.

Voters may have moved on from covid-19

A year after Trump's denial and mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic became the dominant story in American politics, the pandemic appears to be disappearing as a determining factor at the polls.

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In Virginia, just 14% of voters said the coronavirus pandemic was the most important problem facing the state, exit polls showed. That was behind the economy (33%), education (24%) and taxes (15%).

And while McAuliffe won 83% of the vote among those who said the coronavirus is the most important issue facing Virginia, he lost to Youngkin by double digits among those who identified all other issues as top.

Making it all about Trump didn't work

McAuliffe did everything he could to link Glenn Youngkin to Donald Trump and failed.

McAuliffe's central message during the campaign close was that the same voters who rejected Trump by 10 percentage points in 2020 should do the same with Youngkin. The effort was aimed at boosting Democratic turnout, and while turnout from the left appears to have been significant, the Virginia election results have made it clear to Democrats across the country that the Republican president, now that he's out of office, office, is not the 'bogeyman' that it once was.

"There is no question that McAuliffe relied too much on Trump in the absence of anything else. That was a mistake," a senior Democratic official told CNN. "Using Trump is fine. Using only Trump in the absence of anything else is not a good strategy."

This failure has implications for Democrats down the road. Although Trump tried to inject himself into this race, the focus on negative messaging gave McAuliffe little room to push an affirmative message of why voters should back him. The defeat now forces Democrats, before 2022, to determine how to rally their base and grow it in the next election.

The irony is that McAuliffe himself may have been second-guessing his absolute focus on Trump.

"I'd love for him to come. But you know... this is not about Trump," McAuliffe told CNN before spending the last few days talking about the former president.

New Jersey's close race bodes ill for Democrats

This was the year New Jersey Democrats were going to break their remarkable 44-year streak of failing to re-elect a Democratic governor .

And it could still happen: there are plenty of uncounted votes and incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murphy could very well win a second term.

But the votes tallied showed a close race, which remained without a winner early Wednesday morning. This is not how Murphy or the Garden State Democrats envisioned it. And win or lose, the narrow margin suggests Democrats face tough odds in the 2022 midterm elections.

In this race, Murphy led Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, a businessman and former state legislator, by double digits (or close to it) in most recent polls. Yes, while Biden's approval rating in the state is underwater, Murphy's is not. His response to the pandemic, including mask and vaccination mandates, has been a political triumph.

But Ciattarelli led the incumbent on a crucial issue -- the most crucial, according to a recent Monmouth poll that asked voters to rank their concerns: taxes. And he criticized Murphy for a comment in which the governor downplayed the issue, saying, "If taxes are your problem, we're probably not your state."

Ciattarelli tried to stay away from Trump, an unpopular figure in the state (where he has a home), a mostly successful strategy that was undermined by the fact that he appeared at a "Stop the Steal" rally last year .

Elections Still Work

With so much unfounded questioning about the election after Trump's defeat in 2020, there were fears that skepticism and fear would lead to low-turnout elections.

That didn't happen. And the races on Tuesday night showed that elections work and can run smoothly. Very few issues were reported and when there were bugs they were fixed and addressed.

This was particularly clear in Virginia, where the state expended the use of early and mail-in voting in response to the coronavirus pandemic and continued the practice for 2020 races. And, in response, both candidates took advantage, including Youngkin, who took issue with Republican skepticism of voting on non-election days and urged his supporters to vote early.

"We were really excited to have the opportunity to vote early. We've been encouraging all Virginians to vote, vote early," Youngkin said as he cast his early ballot.

The strategy worked, and Youngkin did what Republicans of the past had failed to do: resist the surge in Democratic early voting with significant turnout of his own.

Voters Rejected Ambitious Police Reform in Minneapolis

With growing concern over gun violence, the most aggressive attempt to reform police in the United States failed a big test Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Voters in the city where George Floyd was killed by a white police officer last year, sparking a global protest movement against police and racist violence, rejected a ballot measure that would have eventually replaced the Police Department of Minneapolis by a mayorally administered Department of Public Safety.

The measure would have removed the requirement to employ a minimum number of police officers in proportion to the city's population.

Minneapolis City Councilman Phillipe Cunningham, who spearheaded a similar ballot initiative last year, told CNN Tuesday night the result was "really unfortunate."

"We've just seen a clear backlash against progress in our city," he said.

The success of the status quo is a setback for the activist wing of the Democratic Party, which has seen progress in its efforts to reform police departments but has now failed in its most ambitious effort to fundamentally reduce or eliminate the traditional role of police. the police in the US

Still, there was good news for advocates against expanding police departments. Voters in Austin, Texas overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have increased their police force.

Mixed messages for Democrats in mayoral race as moderates win New York but progressives score historic victories

In an unforgettable night for many progressives, the projected mayoral race on CNN painted a complex picture of what voters, especially Democrats, want from their leaders.

New York's Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, a former retired police captain who ran on promises to crack down on crime and police abuse, easily won the election.

Meanwhile, in Boston, Michelle Wu, a progressive protégé of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is on her way to a historic victory over her moderate rival and city councilwoman Annissa Essaibi George, who has already conceded defeat.

Pittsburgh also elected Pennsylvania state representative Ed Gainey as its new mayor. Gainey, a progressive, defeated incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto in the Democratic primary and will now be the first black mayor there. And a few hours west, Justin Bibb, another candidate with progressive support, will be Cleveland's next leader.

But as the West Coast results rolled in, one more setback for progressives: Seattle City Council Speaker Lorena Gonzalez lost to former Council Speaker Bruce Harrell.