Glenn Youngkin had never run for political office before he quit his job to run for governor of Virginia. He has a good shot at being the first Republican elected to statewide office in Virginia since 2009.
Recent polls suggest that the Tuesday election is a toss-up between Youngkin, 54, and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is seeking a second, nonconsecutive term. The numbers are a surprising turnaround considering President Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 points in 2020.
Youngkin’s campaign credits his success to his being a “cheerful warrior” who stays focused on local issues, even as his opponent attempts to make the race a referendum on former President Donald Trump and the national Republican Party. If he wins, other candidates may try to emulate his tightrope walk of not going full MAGA while also not dismissing the Republican base.
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How Virginia would run on Youngkin
Much of Youngkin’s platform is typical for a Republican. He wants to eliminate Virginia’s 2.5% grocery tax, cut regulations with the aim of spurring job growth, and double the standard deduction for the income tax. He also pledges to fully fund law enforcement and protect qualified immunity. While he encourages COVID-19 vaccinations, he opposes mandates.
Outrage over coronavirus restrictions, critical race theory, and transgender student policy made Northern Virginia a center of cultural outrage and blowups at school board meetings this year.
Youngkin has embraced the issue, pledging to put an end to critical race theory, as well as raise teacher pay, raise education standards, and expand the number of charter schools in the state. His surge in polling position appears to be boosted by voters who say that education is their most important issue.
One of Youngkin’s top issues during the Republican gubernatorial primary was to create an “election integrity task force,” but he has focused on that less in the general election. He has said that Biden was legitimately elected.
Should Youngkin win, party control of the state Legislature as a result of the Nov. 2 election will be key to whether he can accomplish many of his priorities. Democrats currently have majorities in the state House and Senate.
From a basketball scholarship to CEO
Youngkin is a Virginia native, born in Richmond and raised between there and Virginia Beach. The towering 6-foot-6 candidate got a basketball scholarship to Rice University, where he played for four years and got a degree in mechanical engineering.
He then got an MBA from Harvard Business School before he and his wife moved to Northern Virginia to join private equity firm the Carlyle Group, based in Washington, D.C. He spent 25 years there, rising to become co-CEO in October 2017. Youngkin left the firm in September 2020, with his eye on a gubernatorial run.
Youngkin said that his wife asked him if he was having a midlife crisis when he told her he was thinking of running for office.
Though he is still new to being a politician, Youngkin isn’t new to politics. Federal Election Commission records show that he has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to federal Republican candidates over the last two decades.
Youngkin’s wealth also helped him fund his gubernatorial campaign, with millions in personal loans to his campaign helping him match McAuliffe in campaign funds.
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Family life
Youngkin met his wife, Suzanne, when they were in school at Rice University. They have four children. The Youngkins own a 30-acre horse farm in Great Falls.
