There are technically only 46 states in America.

Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Virginia all call themselves commonwealths

instead.

The difference is in name only and is thought to exist simply because a few 18th century

constitution writers believe that the word commonwealth better suited the new republic's

anti-monochist sentiments.

The commonwealth of Virginia is the site of the first electoral test of Joe Biden's

presidency.

Once solidly read, it seemed to have become reliably blue, with Democrats recent

electoral dominance confirmed in 2020 by President Biden's 10 point victory and the capture

of the state legislature.

But less than a week until voters decide on their next governor, polls show that Democrat

Terry McCalliffe is neck and neck with his Republican opponent Glen Youngkin.

How did it get this tight?

This is Chex and Balance.

I'm John Prado, the economist's U.S. senator.

Each week we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.

Today is this as good as it gets for the Democrats.

Democratic lawmakers in Washington are struggling to pass a budget bill and fighting among themselves.

The president's approval ratings are in the doldrums and demographic trends are setting

the party up for long term weakness.

It's now a year until the 2022 midterms and over the next couple of episodes we're going

...