Governor Glenn Youngkin said on Wednesday that Virginia remains competitive for former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance (R-OH) despite President Joe Biden dropping out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been credited with making up ground lost under Biden.
Youngkin made the remarks during an appearance on The Brian Kilmeade Show, initially acknowledging the recent poll results that showed Harris narrowly leading Trump within the survey’s margin of error.
“Virginia is competitive, let’s be serious,” said Youngkin, who then noted that Biden carried the commonwealth by 10 percent, suggesting the Democrats have had a “stunning” reversal of fortunes in Virginia.
Youngkin told Kilmeade, “I think it’s reflective of the fact that the key issues on voters minds are the economy and the border. Those are big issues in Virginians’ minds.”
LISTEN: Governor @GlennYoungkin joined @kilmeade to explain why Virginia is competitive this November:
“Virginia is competitive…The key issues on voters’ minds are the economy and the border.” pic.twitter.com/3e67jqSyah
— Team Youngkin – Spirit of Virginia (@TeamYoungkin) August 28, 2024
The governor added that Virginians can compare the track record of the Biden-Harris administration to his record as governor, in addition to the recent memory of Trump’s term in office.
“We have been warring in Virginia for the last two and a half years, when we turned around the failed policies of the previous administration,” said Youngkin. “Virginians saw what President Trump did when he was president in his first term, when he build this rip-roaring economy that lifted up all Americans, and they want it again.”
Stressing the importance of the economy and immigration to voters, Youngkin predicted the political discourse would eventually return to the issues.
The governor stated, “This is going to get to issues and policies and the future of America, and Americans want strength back in the White House, Virginians want strength back in the White House, and that’s why this thing is gonna be so tight and so hard fought over the course of the next 90 days.”
Former Governor Terry McAuliffe, who lost to Youngkin in 2021, recently made virtually opposite remarks about the race.
He claimed the pollsters had “never had a poll that’s correct in their life” and said any reports that it will be a “tight” race are false, as it is “not possible” for the Republican to win in Virginia.
Despite McAuliffe’s prediction, Biden reportedly decided to call off his campaign after receiving polls showing him losing Virginia, and the Trump campaign appears to share Youngkin’s assessment about an issues-based race.
A Trump campaign spokesman recently told Semafor, “the dynamics of this campaign [are] based on issues,” and the campaign expects Trump to perform better than other Republicans in the commonwealth as a result.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin.
