Indeed, except for promises to safeguard “election integrity” — a nod to Trump’s lies about last year’s presidential race being stolen — Youngkin has done his best to eschew help not only from Trump but also most top national GOP leaders. Doing so has allowed him to court moderate Republicans and swing voters.

Another name not appearing on Tuesday’s ballot is Biden’s, yet his approval ratings have fallen in recent weeks and his administration will likely get a lot of the blame nationally if its party doesn’t prevail in Virginia. The Democratic-controlled Congress has yet to approve a major public works bill or a sweeping spending package that would dramatically increase government support for the social safety net — providing still more potential political headwinds against McAuliffe.

Still, some Youngkin supporters credited their preferred candidate with keeping the race focused on Virginia, not Washington.

“He’s a straight shooter,” said Dan Maloy, a 53-year-old small business owner. “He cares about the issues that we care about. You know, it’s food on the table. What’s the cost of groceries? What’s the cost of gas? What do we need to do to move Virginia forward?”