{"id":2076227,"date":"2023-10-23T06:48:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T10:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/november-to-remember-virginia-elections-could-launch-youngkin-national-run\/"},"modified":"2023-10-23T06:52:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T10:52:08","slug":"november-to-remember-virginia-elections-could-launch-youngkin-national-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/november-to-remember-virginia-elections-could-launch-youngkin-national-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia elections in November could potentially launch Youngkin&#8217;s national political career."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnovember-to-remember-virginia-elections-could-launch-youngkin-national-run%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2076227&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>A\u200b November to Remember: The High Stakes of the 2023 Elections<\/h2>\n<p>The 2023 elections may\u200d not have the fireworks of 2024, but there\u200b is still plenty up for grabs. In this\u200b &#8220;off-year,&#8221;\u00a0most of which takes place on Nov. 7, Virginia will be keenly \u2063watched, particularly by followers of Gov.\u2062 Glenn Youngkin, and whether he can springboard Republican success into national aspirations. Meanwhile, the governor&#8217;s mansion is up for grabs in Kentucky and Mississippi. New Jersey&#8217;s Republicans believe they have a real shot at turning the state red in legislative\u00a0elections, while there are also fierce\u2064 mayoral and district attorney battles throughout the United States. Voters\u2064 will also decide several fascinating referendums, \u2064particularly in Ohio, Maine, and Texas.\u200d This\u00a0Washington Examiner series, <strong>November to Remember<\/strong>, will dive \u200cinto\u200b all of these and more over the following two weeks.\u00a0Part 1 will deal with\u200b how Virginia\u2019s legislative races \u200dcould make or break the political career of \u200cGov. Glenn Youngkin.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>A Handful of \u2064Races That \u2063Could \u2062Shape\u200c the Future<\/h3>\n<p>A handful of state \u200blegislature races in the Virginia suburbs could dictate the political future of one of the Republican Party\u2019s most promising stars.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>WHY\u2063 THE REPUBLICANS CAN&#8217;T JUST GET\u2062 ALONG<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin has bet big on\u2062 the prospect of Republicans taking control of both chambers in the Virginia General Assembly, which would require defending a narrow majority\u2062 in the\u200b House of Delegates and flipping the state Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin has poured significant sums from his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-republicans-announce-104-million-off-year-record-breaking-fundraising-haul-in-2021\/\" title=\"Senate Republicans Announce 4 Million Off-Year Record-Breaking Fundraising Haul in 2021\">record-breaking fundraising hauls<\/a> into helping Republicans grow their ranks \u200bat\u2064 the\u2063 statehouse. He\u2019s also led a push to \u2064ramp up early voting for Republicans, who have, in recent years, ceded early voting advantages to\u200c Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Still relatively untested as a first-time politician, Youngkin\u2019s decision \u200cto devote so much of his focus\u200c to the off-year election means the results \u2064will \u200dlikely be viewed through the lens of\u200d what they mean for his career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe stakes couldn\u2019t be higher for him,\u201d Bob \u2062Holsworth, a veteran Virginia political analyst, told the Washington Examiner. \u2063\u201cIf he wins, it catapults him further onto the national stage. If the Democrats win in flipping the House and keeping the Senate, it \u2064will\u2062 basically say that his election was a one-off because\u200c of the frustration that people felt\u200b about Covid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly will be on the ballot on Nov. 7, which is Election Day in Virginia\u200c and a few other states.<\/p>\n<p>But\u2062 just a handful of those races will \u200cdetermine control of the legislature, Holsworth \u200dsaid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s\u200c probably six, maybe seven maximum, in the Senate, and maybe eight or nine in\u2064 the\u200d House,\u201d Holsworth said of the\u200d contests that\u2062 have become\u2063 competitive\u2063 enough to swing the assembly.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have a four-seat majority in the state Senate. Republicans have a four-seat majority in the House of Delegates, with four seats vacant heading \u200dinto Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>The races next month \u2063will test the impact of the \u2062new map drawn by \u200bthe state after redistricting \u200cin 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Abortion, crime, and education have factored heavily\u200d into \u200ccampaign \u200bmessaging\u2063 this year, with Youngkin spearheading\u2062 a push for a 15-week abortion ban he has said\u2063 Republicans will pass if they win control of the state Senate and keep the House of\u200b Delegates.<\/p>\n<p>But President \u200bJoe Biden and his predecessor\u2062 also loom over the off-year legislative contests.<\/p>\n<p>Former President\u2064 Donald Trump\u2019s unpopularity in Virginia helped \u2062drive Democrats\u2064 to heights that could prove difficult to sustain without him on the ballot this\u2063 year.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats flipped 15 seats in the House of \u2062Delegates in 2017, but Republicans \u200cjust barely clung to a majority when a \u200bstatistical tie in \u200bone district ultimately forced Virginia officials to draw the name of the winner from a bowl. The seat stayed in Republican hands as a result, giving the GOP a narrow\u2063 51 to 49 majority.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, riding a wave of anti-Trump sentiment, Democrats won control of both the House of Delegates and the state Senate.<\/p>\n<p>But with Trump out of office, Virginia Republicans have fared better. Youngkin\u2019s victory in the 2021 governor\u2019s race coincided with a strong performance by the GOP in House of Delegates races; the party netted seven seats and took control \u2064of the chamber that\u200d year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Virginia really looked bluer than it may actually be\u201d during Trump\u2019s \u2062presidency, said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of \u2064Sabato&#8217;s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVoter registration has been down this\u2064 year compared to 2019,\u201d Coleman told the Washington Examiner. \u201cThat was the last year where only the legislature\u2063 was on the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Coleman said Trump\u2019s divisiveness \u200clikely drove a surge in Democratic voter registration during\u200c his presidency that has since abated, with those Democratic voters already priced into \u2064the electorate for 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Coleman noted, Democratic candidates have been \u201covercorrecting\u201d\u200d for the mistakes of 2021, when former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe lost to Youngkin after building his campaign around Trump\u2019s unpopularity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seemed like every \u2064other sentence, he\u2019d mention Trump, and that didn\u2019t really work out\u200c very well,\u201d\u2062 Coleman said of McAuliffe.<\/p>\n<p>Although he\u2019s running for president again, Trump has featured less prominently in Virginia Democrats\u2019 messaging this \u200dcycle.<\/p>\n<p>Biden\u2019s low approval\u200b rating \u2014 roughly 41% in Virginia, a state he carried with 54% of the vote just three\u200b years ago \u2014 could also complicate the situation for Democratic legislature candidates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemocrats did very well in\u200d Virginia when Trump was president because he was so unpopular here,\u201d said Holsworth, the Virginia political analyst. \u201cBut Democrats in Virginia, like Democrats nationally, have tended not to focus on how unpopular Biden is in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a little bit of a challenge that no one has spoken about,\u200b but the fact that\u200b Biden is unpopular in Virginia can tamp down Democratic enthusiasm and turnout, and that may be as much of a challenge as Youngkin\u2019s money,\u201d \u200bHolsworth \u2062added.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin\u2019s fundraising prowess has helped Republicans neutralize the financial edge that Virginia Democrats have enjoyed in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>In \u2064September, Democrats raised $8.8 million for their House of Delegates candidates, while Republicans raised $8.3 \u200dmillion. On\u2062 the state Senate side, Democrats raised $6.5 million compared to Republicans\u2019 $6 million.<\/p>\n<p>That has allowed \u200cRepublicans to answer attacks on \u200cvulnerable issues like abortion and \u200ccontinue pressing their advantage on issues \u2062like parental rights in education, the latter of which helped propel Youngkin into office.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin hopes to replicate some of the success of his 2021 playbook,\u2064 which some Republicans \u2063have called \u2064\u201cthe\u200d Virginia model,\u201d for General Assembly \u200braces this year. That has\u2063 some GOP activists and\u2064 donors whispering about a late entry into the\u200c 2024 presidential race.<\/p>\n<p>Younkin hosted some of \u2064the Republican Party\u2019s biggest donors \u2064at a retreat last \u2064week in Virginia Beach, where he reportedly pressed them on the importance of sweeping Virginia legislative\u2063 races next month.<\/p>\n<p>Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an appearance at the \u200bretreat and later told CBS News in an interview that\u200d donors discussed a \u200ddesire to see\u200c Youngkin run for \u200cpresident.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;By the way, I would include myself amongst the people who think he would be really \u2063good in that place, that he&#8217;s a very capable leader and someone who understands the American\u2063 people,\u201d Pompeo said.<\/p>\n<p>A strong Republican performance on Nov. 7 may\u2062 not come soon enough to \u2063help Youngkin break into the presidential primary, however.<\/p>\n<p>The filing deadline to participate in the New Hampshire primary \u2013 the second nominating contest, falling after the Iowa\u200b caucus \u2014 will have passed by Virginia\u2019s Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>If he waited to use the Virginia elections\u2063 as a springboard to \u200denter the presidential primary, Youngkin would also \u2064miss the filing deadline to participate in the Nevada caucus, the third nominating contest of 2024.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, Trump\u2019s lead over the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/november-to-remember-virginia-elections-could-launch-youngkin-national-run\/\" title=\"Virginia elections in November could potentially launch Youngkin's national political career.\">existing field remains unyielding<\/a>,\u200b and it has already caused his challengers to reconsider their options.<\/p>\n<p>A\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/philly-da-enjoyed-european-excursion-as-homicides-spiked\/\" title=\"Philly DA Enjoyed European Excursion as Homicides Spiked\">political action committee supporting<\/a> the presidential campaign of \u2064Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) canceled\u200d its planned ad spending for the fall amid the realization that the dynamics of\u200c the 2024 race remain \u201cstuck,\u201d according to a memo prepared by the PAC.<\/p>\n<p>No\u2064 GOP primary opponent has managed to gain any significant ground against Trump over the course of several\u2064 months of campaigning and two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/everyone-is-talking-about-jill-biden-and-doug-emhoffs-weird-kiss-except-our-national-press\/\" title=\"Everyone Is Talking About Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff\u2019s Weird Kiss, Except Our National Press\">prime-time debates<\/a> in which Trump did not participate.<\/p>\n<p>Those dynamics \u2063could\u200b dissuade\u200d Youngkin from entering a \u2064race that appears unwinnable, even if his party\u2019s performance next month does supercharge the 2024 speculation surrounding him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has played an enormous role in this election for the Republicans,\u201d said Coleman. \u201cThis is his midterm election,\u200c basically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompared to some of the other governors, say a [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis or a \u200c [Georgia Gov.] \u2064Brian\u200b Kemp, who have been able to pass a lot of\u200c conservative legislation, he\u2019s really been stymied by his state Senate,\u201d Coleman added.<\/p>\n<p>The remaining two years of\u2063 Youngkin\u2019s term, rather than the results \u2064on Election Day next month, could provide Youngkin a boost into presidential politics if Republicans gain unified control of Virginia\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin would then have the opportunity to pass\u200d abortion and education \u200cpolicies that could offer him a \u200bplatform to run on in the 2028 presidential \u200crace, which will start to take shape roughly one year after his term\u2064 ends.<\/p>\n<p>Coleman noted that other rising political stars, \u200blike Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, already appear to be positioning themselves for the presidential race that follows the likely Biden-Trump rematch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c2028 is going to come faster than \u2062a lot of people realize,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><em>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON\u200c EXAMINER<\/em><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How has Glenn Youngkin&#8217;s ability to distance himself from the former \u200bpresident&#8217;s rhetoric\u200b affected his odds of winning the gubernatorial race?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Inning candidate from a bowl. That slim margin has made Republicans determined to maintain their grip on the House \u2063of Delegates.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Youngkin&#8217;s own path to victory in the gubernatorial race was paved in part\u2064 by his ability to distance himself from the controversial and divisive rhetoric of the former president. He presented himself as a more moderate\u200b and inclusive \u2064candidate, focused on bread-and-butter issues like the economy and education. His success\u2063 in Virginia has prompted\u2064 speculation about his potential future in national politics. \u2062Winning control of the legislature would provide him with a powerful platform to advance his agenda and potentially position himself as \u2062a conservative leader for the\u200b GOP.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if Democrats are able to flip the House and maintain their majority in the Senate, it would be a significant blow to Youngkin&#8217;s political ambitions. It would suggest that his victory\u2064 in the gubernatorial race was \u2064more of an anomaly, driven by unique circumstances surrounding the pandemic, rather than a sign \u200cof a broader shift in the state&#8217;s \u200dpolitical landscape.\u200b It would also make\u200c it more challenging for Youngkin to build a lasting\u200b coalition within the Republican Party or to rally support for his policy proposals.<\/p>\n<p>While the results of the legislative races in Virginia will undoubtedly have national implications, the stakes are also high for the people of the state. \u2062The\u2064 outcome of these races will shape\u2064 the policy agenda of the General Assembly for the next several years, determining everything from taxes and spending to healthcare and education.\u2062 It will\u200b also have broader implications for \u2064the direction of Virginia and its place in the national\u200b political landscape.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of the outcome, the 2023 elections in Virginia are a \u2063November to remember. They represent \u2064a\u2063 critical moment in the \u200dpolitical career of Glenn Youngkin and a key test for the Republican Party&#8217;s ability to maintain and build upon its recent gains in the state. As voters head to the polls on November 7, the \u2062eyes \u200cof the nation will be on Virginia, watching \u200dto see what the future\u200c holds.<\/p>\n<p>This article is Part 1 of the Washington Examiner series, &#8220;November to Remember,&#8221; which will continue to examine the high stakes and \u2062key races of the 2023 elections over the \u2062following weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>up for grabs in New Jersey, where the outcome will be closely observed for potential implications on the national political landscape. While the 2023 elections may lack the excitement of 2024, they hold significant importance, especially in Virginia and New Jersey, as they could shape the future ambitions of politicians and impact the broader political scenario.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2076228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2076227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2076227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2076228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2076227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2076227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2076227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}