GOP Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin says it is an ‘honor and privilege’ to be considered a possible 2024 contender and his landslide victory in 2021 proved that Republican voters are ‘looking ahead’
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is getting more and more rumored about 2024
His 2021 election in an anti-Trump battlefield state was widely hailed as a Republican roadmap for a future without the ex-president in charge
Donald Trump previously lashed out at Youngkin for his White House buzz
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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said it was an “honor and privilege” to be considered a potential candidate for the White House on Sunday.
The popular Republican leader didn’t say whether or not he was running in the next presidential race — he insisted he was “laser-focused” on the Commonwealth — but insisted he was flattered by the campaign rumor.
Referring to his higher aspirations, however, Youngkin suggested his landslide 2021 win for the governor’s mansion in Richmond could be a winning roadmap for Republicans to “look ahead.”
Asked about “rumors” that he’s looking for the top job in 2024, Youngkin said on Cats Roundtable on WABC, “Those rumors aren’t doing the rounds in my house right now.”
“The main thing in our focus is Virginia,” Youngkin told host John Catsimatidis.
“I always feel humbled when people ask me this. Forty years ago I did the dishes and took out the trash. And two years ago I gave up my dream job to serve Virginians,” the governor continued.
“It is a remarkable honor and privilege for someone to mention my name in this context.”
Youngkin was an executive before being elected governor, and is a relative political novice compared to other Republicans who have floated for 2024, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin discussed his thoughts on the 2024 race and his state’s policy goals in a new Sunday radio interview
He didn’t name Donald Trump, but said his 2021 election in Virginia — largely without bringing up the ex-president — showed Republican voters “looking ahead”
But his election in a battlefield state, despite Democratic powerhouse Terry McAuliffe widely expecting him to be the winner, has been hailed as a possible grassroots strategy for the Republicans’ future post-Donald Trump.
He led a policy-oriented race largely focused on the economy and parental rights in schools. While Trump endorsed it, Youngkin barely, if ever, let the former president’s name escape his mouth on the campaign trail.
The governor seemed to allude to that praise when asked about his post-mortem of the Republicans’ disappointing performance in the interim — particularly in the Senate, where the losses of Trump-backed Senate candidates in key races led Democrats to retained their majority for another two years. .
“I believe in some races we struggled to clearly define what we were going to do,” said Youngkin.
And voters — voters in Virginia last year and voters across the country this year — I think reminded us all that it’s about looking forward, not back. And it’s time we looked ahead.’
Trump is so far the only GOP figure to formally declare that he is running for president.
Youngkin was a political newcomer as he defeated Democratic powerhouse Terry McAuliffe, former Governor of Virginia (pictured Oct. 26, 2021 with President Joe Biden)
But his influence over the Republican Party appears to be waning, especially after several high-profile candidates he supported lost to more moderate opponents in the 2022 midterm elections.
However, those candidates were the top incumbent GOP rivals in their respective primaries.
It’s a reminder that Trump’s own bid is in the hands of those same Republican primary voters, rather than the broader right-wing machine.
Armed with perhaps less support than initially expected, Trump lashed out at rising GOP stars Youngkin and DeSantis for refusing to definitively rule out their own 2024 challenges for him.
The ex-president fired a racially-tinged Truth Social post targeting Youngkin days after the Nov. 8 races.
“Young Kin (that’s an interesting look. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me,” Trump wrote on Nov. 11.
“I backed him, ran a really big Trump Rally for him over the phone, got MAGA to vote for him — otherwise he couldn’t have come close to winning. But he knows that and admits it. Besides, he’s having a hard time with the Dems in Virginia – But he’ll get it done!’