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A Tale of Two Election Narratives
The mass media told very different stories with their headlines about two elections that had similar results.
If you have paid any attention to mass media headlines over the past two days, you’d be convinced that the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections had stunningly different results. For example, a headline from the Associated Press reads, “Murphy ekes out win in NJ, GOP’s Youngkin upsets in Virginia”. They aren’t the only news outlet to frame the Democratic win as dismal and the Republican one as outstanding. The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and others all did the same.
A quick Google search of “Youngkin” comes back with headlines framing the Virginia gubernatorial win as monumentally huge while Governor Phil Murphy “ekes” out a win.
While the Republican win focuses almost exclusively on election success, the Democratic one dwells on stark divisions over mask and vaccine mandates. Yet, when you take a closer look at the election results you see similar performances by both candidates.
