2y ago

GOP election losses in Virginia are likely to quiet the presidential speculation about Gov. Youngkin

Gov. Glenn Youngkin cast Virginia’s legislative races in monumental terms when he campaigned with a Republican candidate in one of the most competitive districts a few days before the election.

The first-term governor with growing national recognition told a cheering crowd at a historic waterside venue that voters could help build on the “movement” he started with his own victory in 2021 by handing the party full control of the statehouse and keeping the “spirit of Virginia” alive.

After Tuesday’s voting didn’t go as he had hoped, the rhetoric was less soaring.

5 comments

No.
Its because the GOP fucking sucks and people are fucking sick of it.
These "moderate" politicians framed as out of the norm for their party barely squeak by to win their elections and then immediately the pundits think they're the template for a presidential run. Youngkin won his governor election 50.6% to 48.6%. Another great moderate hope Mayor Adams in NYC won his primary (the real election there) 50.4% to 49.6%. These aren't smashing victories by political savants, they're barely successful runs for open seats in off-years where nearly half the population voted against them. The pundits just want to manifest a great moderate hope and who cares about what makes sense.
- If Republicans win by a very thin margin they call it a mandate for them to push their unpopular agenda. Instead of the reality that they won because of gerrymandering and most voters do not want them in office.
It's a Virginian sacrifice
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The first-term governor with growing national recognition told a cheering crowd at a historic waterside venue that voters could help build on the “movement” he started with his own victory in 2021 by handing the party full control of the statehouse and keeping the “spirit of Virginia” alive.
Billionaire Republican megadonor Thomas Peterffy had been among the most vocal advocates of a Youngkin run for the White House in 2024 and donated $3 million to the governor’s political action committee.
In making an eleventh-hour presidential bid, Youngkin would have faced logistical difficulties, ballot access hurdles and a GOP primary electorate that polling shows widely supports former President Donald Trump.
“I think the ‘Red Vest Retreat’ was a disaster,” House Democratic leader Don Scott, who is poised to become the chamber’s speaker, said of Youngkin’s widely covered campaign-season event for top donors.
Proponents of a Youngkin presidential bid saw the wealthy former private equity executive and college basketball player as the type of Republican who could win over both loyal Trump voters and moderates.
Scott said Democrats would send Youngkin legislation increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, banning so-called assault weapons, strengthening red flag laws, which are intended to temporarily remove guns from people with potentially violent behavior and prevent them from hurting themselves or others, and returning Virginia to membership in a bipartisan data-sharing compact designed to fight voter fraud.
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