Just two days before Thanskgiving, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has released a new video on X, calling on all incoming members of President-elect Trump’s cabinet to set up their homes in Virginia (the video has over 238,000 views in less than a day).
To all the new members of @realDonaldTrump’s administration relocating to the area to make America great again, I am personally inviting you to make Virginia your home. pic.twitter.com/pAkwkoWurR
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) November 26, 2024
So what?
Here’s what.
First, the video speaks to the incoming president’s popularity.
Youngkin famously won his surprise gubernatorial bid in the blue state by keeping Trump at arm’s length during his 2021 campaign and waited to endorse Trump in the GOP primary until after it was more than clear Trump would be the nominee (post Super Tuesday, and with the “it’s time to unite” endorsement that usually means “less than thrilled”).
However, as the 2024 general approached, speculation grew that Youngkin might be a Veep pick and Trump, in a bid to flip Virginia, worked (and seemingly succeeded) at building a connection with the VA gov.
Just three years ago, it was almost unthinkable that Youngkin would be releasing a video like this, but then again, a lot of people didn’t imagine Trump would be gliding to another solid win in the electoral college, on the backs of a pretty remarkable coalition.
Emerson’s latest poll shows Trump entering his second term, polling at 53% favorability with Hispanic voters, 28% of black voters, nearly half of female voters, and an >50% rating with voters under 30 years old. Not to mention a 61% rating with men.
And remember, Virginia was relatively close.
Harris only beat Trump by 5% there, and Youngkin doesn’t have to run for another gubernatorial term, and has no reason to shy away from Trump.
The second subtle note, and I’m not sure if this is intentional — Youngkin’s pitch assumes that Trump’s Admin will be populated by fresh-to-DC types (why else would they be moving to the area?). It fits with the “drain the swamp” messaging.
As for Youngkin’s future?
He’s made it clear he has future ambitions.
If he makes a run for Senate, he’d have to face Mark Warner, which wouldn’t be easy.
A 2028 presidential run wouldn’t be easy, either. If it’s going to be a MAGA-heir race, he’s behind a lot of other names.
If Trump crashes in his second term, perhaps Haley is the front-runner and Youngkin would seem a top 3 in the non-MAGA lane.
But MAGA, at some level, will remain hugely influential no matter how Trump fares the next four years, and perhaps Youngkin is betting that he can earn enough good will with the movement to build some sort of coalition in 2028.
Won’t be easy, though.
