Nation looks to Virginia's gubernatorial race as bellwether for the midterms

Both candidates in Virginia's gubernatorial race have nationalized the stakes in this year's marquee contest that will serve as a bellwether for the 2020 midterms.

Virginia voters have a choice: They can continue the commonwealth's more than a decade-long streak of backing Democratic candidates at the statewide level, or they can reestablish Virginia as a battleground where Republicans can not only compete -- but win.

More than 1.1 million Virginians have already voted in Tuesday's election, which will determine three statewide officeholders and which party controls the state legislature's lower chamber. The stakes, as defined by the candidates at the top of the ticket, extend far beyond one state.

"The eyes of the nation are on us. Why? … We all know that as Virginia goes, so goes the nation," Glenn Youngkin, the Republican nominee for governor, said at a rally over the weekend. "We are going to send a shockwave across this country, and there's not going to be a Democrat in any seat anywhere in this nation who's going to think that his or her seat is safe."

The gubernatorial race is the marquee race of the year. It's the first competitive contest since Joe Biden replaced Donald Trump in the Oval Office, and both men loom large over the race.