Gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday he is creating a Virginia Wins PAC to fund Republican political candidates across the ballot in Virginia.
“Youngkin’s investment and fundraising will build a team of local and statewide Republican leaders to restore the Commonwealth, and counter the liberal agenda driven in Virginia by George Soros, who in recent years funded left-wing candidates and efforts aimed at transforming school boards and prosecutor offices,” a campaign press release states.
“Virginia Wins PAC will support Republican candidates for every level of government, including local school board, Commonwealth’s attorney, county sheriff, board of supervisors, state delegate, state senator, and the U.S. Congress. The effort will help elect the next wave of Republican leaders through a broad base of campaign, media, and financial assistance,” the release states.
The release called the PAC a “long-term, seven-figure commitment and fundraising effort.” A spokesperson didn’t clarify how much was being initially invested in the PAC.
A longtime GOP consultant who declined to be named told The Virginia Star, “If he was really serious about it, he would have done it a few years back. Doing it now in the context of his campaign is pretty shallow.”
Youngkin is the former CEO of the Carlyle Group which handles some investments from the Virginia Retirement System; he said that association prevented him from being able to contribute to campaigns in Virginia before he retired last September.
According to campaign finance data from the Federal Elections Commission, Youngkin donated $360,300 to various conservative PACs and candidates across the country from January 2019 to December 2020, including over $16,200 to PACs supporting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Gade.
Youngkin has been attacked by PACs citing Carlyle Group donations as proof of Youngkin’s personal allegiances. The Virginia Cornerstone PAC is running ads that currently appear on The Virginia Star blaming Youngkin for a $200,000 Carlyle Group donation to Hillary Clinton. The Americans for Limited Government PAC similarly targeted Youngkin; neither PAC has disclosed who is funding them, although Virginia Cornerstone is run by conservative political consultant Chris Jankowski, according to reporting by Axios.
Youngkin blamed his opponent Pete Snyder for the attacks in a forum on Sunday evening. “Over the course of the last month, there’s been ads run against me, accusing me of things. I want to directly address those right now,” he said. “My charitable giving and [wife] Suzanne’s charitable giving has gone to Republicans. Only to Republicans.”
He said, “No, these are lies, and the person behind them should be ashamed, and we all know who it is, Pete.”
Spokesperson Macaulay Porter told The Star, “Glenn has never given money to these groups; he has always donated his own money to conservative candidates and Christian organizations.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Fox Business. Background Photo “Virginia State Capitol” by Ron Cogswell. CC BY 2.0.
