Polling stations have been open since 6 a.m. local time around the state of Virginia.
For thirteen hours, Virginia residents can vote for various gubernatorial candidates, and in recent days, both Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe have campaigned intensively for more people to vote.
Preview of the mid-year election
The gubernatorial election in Virginia is traditionally an indicator of how things are going for the incumbent president and the ruling party.
The governor of the state has only a term of four years and the election therefore always falls one year after the presidential election.
Historically, Virginia is a Republican state, but in recent years it has been the Democrats who have managed to win over the votes.
But this election has become more than a traditional and local struggle between the Democrats and the Republicans.
The gubernatorial election has become a follow-up to the presidential election last year and a preview of what will come in the midterm elections next year.
Political comeback
Terry McAuliffe is making a political comeback this year.
He was Virginia's governor from 2014-2018.
During this election campaign, Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama have participated in the campaign meetings.
An indication of how important the state is to the Democrats, especially now that his opponent Glenn Youngkin is gaining ground.
President Joe Biden won Virginia by ten percentage points last year, but he has since faced many setbacks at home.
The major reform packages regarding infrastructure as well as climate and welfare initiatives have not yet been voted through and the economic situation in the country is strained.
The confidence figures for Biden are thus low, which set the bar for the McAullife campaign.
Multi-year governance is challenged
Glenn Youngkin, in turn, is a political newcomer.
He is a Harvard-educated businessman and is McAulife's main opponent.
If Youngkin wins, Virginia will get a Republican governor for the first time since 2014, that is, when McAuliffe sat in his first term.
Former President Donald Trump has backed Youngkin but they have not appeared together.
During the campaign, Youngkin has tried to balance himself in the middle of the Republicans and focused a lot on issues that involved parents, such as education and oral hygiene in schools.
More than 1.1 million people, out of almost 6 million eligible Virginia residents, have voted early and the rest now have until 7 pm before the polls close.