Virginia last backed a Republican for president in 2004, when the Old Dominion’s Electoral College votes went to George W. Bush. Since then, the state has been a safe bet for Democrat candidates, but then, in 2021, something happened: A Republican upstart named Glenn Youngkin took on former Governor Terry McAuliffe and won, becoming Virginia’s first Republican governor since 2009. That doesn’t seem like all that long a time for the Democrats to hold the governorship of a state, but Virginia has, in that time, become a pretty reliably Democratic state.
But Governor Youngkin is doing pretty well in the Old Dominion. His approval ratings are good, he’s young, charismatic, and has a viable replacement in Winsome Sears should he decide to take a new gig – say, as a VP candidate. Now, maybe partly because of Youngkin’s success, the Trump campaign is looking hard at possibly flipping…
