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For months, some of the Republican Party’s top donors have dreamed of a dramatic late entry into the presidential race by Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, imagining an unlikely scenario in which the wool-clad former financier wrests control of the party from his hands. to Donald J. .Trump.
On Tuesday night, those fantasies received a dose of reality when Youngkin failed in his attempt to complete a Republican takeover of Virginia’s capital, with Democrats not only maintaining control of the state Senate but also regaining the majority in the House.
Some Republicans had seen Youngkin as the key to solving their political problems in the suburbs. In 2021, he won over moderate voters disheartened by the Trump era while avoiding a significant blowback from the party’s conservative base by keeping the party’s controversial standard-bearer at arm’s length from him.
It was thought that Youngkin’s plan could help the Republican Party halt a series of tough defeats since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Youngkin encouraged his party to get involved in the fight, spending heavily on a television ad explaining the Republican plan to ban abortion in Virginia after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the woman. .
Voters in key races rejected that Republican position, shattering the idea that Youngkin and like-minded candidates had solved the party’s biggest electoral challenge.
For now, Youngkin’s national ambitions (always more likely to crystallize in the 2028 presidential cycle than this one) appear to be on hold. A more immediate concern for Youngkin, who is term limited, will be in Richmond, where he will spend his final two years in office fighting Democratic majorities in the legislature that are unlikely to advance the Republican governor’s agenda.
“The only justification for running next year would be for Republicans to take control of both chambers,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Politics Center. “Without that, he has the problem of having been elected to public office and being only halfway through that term.”
Dave Rexrode, a key adviser to Youngkin, acknowledged it had been a difficult night for Republicans. “We were hoping for a stronger outcome,” he said in a social media post, adding that the governor’s team would “fully assess where things stand in the morning.”
Youngkin’s political strength stems from what had been his unique success story in Virginia, which voted Democratic in the last four presidential elections but seemed to have embraced Republicans since his rise two years ago.
That has fueled anticipation in some corners of the Republican Party about whether and when Youngkin, 56, might run for president. Donors in particular have hoped the governor will decide on a run sooner rather than later, as Trump’s Republican presidential rivals apparently cannot come close to his commanding lead in the polls.
Youngkin raised more than $18 million this year for his political committee, Spirit of Virginia, a staggering sum supported by six- and seven-figure contributions from some Republican billionaires, including Kenneth G. Langone, Ronald S. Lauder and Bernie Marcus. , Thomas Peterffy, Stephen Ross, Stephen Wynn and Jeff Yass.
Youngkin, former chief executive of the Carlyle Group, a Washington-based private equity firm, also donated $500,000 of his own money last month.
“There’s no doubt he wants to run for president,” said one donor, adding that Youngkin had made this clear in private conversations and insisted on anonymity to describe them.
Youngkin fueled talk about his future in the spring when he released a presidential style campaign video of the highlights of a noble speech he gave at Ronald Reagan’s presidential library. However, he has declined to discuss speculation and has simply said that he remains focused on Virginia.
Part of Youngkin’s appeal has been his ability to campaign as a Trump Republican, but on his terms.
He has campaigned with Kari Lake, the Arizona Republican who is one of the country’s leading election deniers, and created an information line for parents report complaints against teachers, although it closed quietly. Youngkin’s policy proposals, including a 15-week abortion ban and banning the teaching of critical race theory in public schools, have also emboldened Trump loyalists in the party.
Democrats pointed to those policies as one reason Youngkin and his party fell short Tuesday.
“Virginians understood the extremism of Youngkin’s abortion ban and the threats to democracy posed by MAGA Republicans,” said Dan Helmer, Democratic House delegate in Virginia and chairman of his party’s campaigns in the House of Representatives. “That’s why they came to vote.”
Youngkin was a central figure in the Virginia elections, hosting more than 100 campaign events for his party and making repeated cameos in television advertisements with Republican candidates.
The governor transferred large sums of money to the state Republican Party to fund a turnout operation that focused heavily on early voting, a program he promoted despite Trump’s repeated warnings to Republicans that it could not be trusted. voting by mail.
“We launched early voting because I was tired of seeing Virginians go to the polls on the last day and seeing Republicans trailing by tens of thousands of votes,” Youngkin said outside a polling station in Barstow, Virginia. an important difference.”
At the polling place, Migara De Silva, a retiree and Republican voter, eagerly ran up to Youngkin to thank him for his economic policies and urge him to “change the state and then change the country.”
In a brief interview after their exchange, De Silva said he would like to see Youngkin run for president, but not until 2028.
“After Trump,” he quickly clarified. “It will only create a lot of resentment if he intervenes now.”