Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is sending mixed signals about a potential 2024 presidential bid as questions surface about the viability of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP primary.
Youngkin raised eyebrows last week when his political arm rolled out a video that had all the trappings of a presidential campaign spot. And on Monday, Axios reported the governor was considering a 2024 bid amid encouragement from donors after he said last month he would not get on the presidential campaign trail in 2023.
November’s state legislature races in Virginia will pose a significant test for Youngkin, likely pushing any 2024 entrance to the end of the year. But others say questions surrounding DeSantis’s candidacy are drawing attention to the Virginia governor.
“I think he’s a very attractive alternative,” said veteran GOP strategist Saul Anuzis. “He has a different style and different demeanor, one that I think is appealing to a lot of voters and a lot of activists and donors who are looking to win the election. Winnability is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for folks.”
But Youngkin’s team has maintained this week that the governor is laser-focused on Virginia ahead of what is expected to be a hard-fought legislature battle in November. Anzuis told The Hill that Youngkin echoed this message in conversations this week at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Austin, Texas.
“He was very disciplined in the sense that he kept saying ‘I’m focused on Virginia,’” Anusiz said.
A source familiar with Youngkin’s political operation echoed this sentiment.
“These races really matter for the direction of the state,” the source said. “That’s the focus and future considerations will be made down the road.”
Earlier this month, Youngkin made headlines when he said he was not preparing to head out on the presidential trail in 2023.
“I’m going to be working in Virginia this year,” the governor said. “And so our House and Senate are up for full reelection this year. We have a House that’s controlled by Republicans and a Senate that’s controlled by Democrats.”
However, his remarks left the door open for speculation about whether Youngkin would jump into the race just before next year. But running at the end of 2023 would be logistically challenging given filing deadlines and the time and effort that goes into building a presidential campaign infrastructure.
“This has been going on for some time now where he doesn’t get in but he doesn’t definitively pull himself out,” said veteran Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth.
“This is sort of a big long shot,” Holsworth continued. “There are a lot of moving parts that would have to break his way.”
Last week, Youngkin and his team raised eyebrows when his political operation rolled out a video showing footage of a recent address the governor delivered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The slickly produced video featured images and footage that appeared to compare the Virginia governor to former President Reagan. In the one-minute spot, Youngkin muses about ushering in “a new era of American values.”
But others say drawing a correlation between the video and any potential presidential aspirations is reading too much into Youngkin’s appearance at the library, which many national Republicans visit.
“He was there to talk about Virginia, which is what he did,” said veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye. “If he were in Iowa, all right, that’s slightly different. He put out a video that yes, it’s well produced and it should be well produced. And he has a good comms team for that. A good digital team.”
It’s also worth noting the ad agency Poolhouse produces ads and videos for Youngkin and the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down.
On Tuesday, Youngkin’s super PAC released an ad on education and parents’ rights, which is part of a six-figure ad buy that will run in battleground districts across Virginia over the next six weeks.
This is one example of how Youngkin’s political operation says it will pull out all the stops ahead of November’s elections, which the source close to the operation likened to “pushing a boulder up a hill.”
“It’s a hard map,” the source said. “You have a bunch of seats that Youngkin won and that [Republican] congressional candidates lost in 2022,” the source said. “You have some seats that Youngkin lost and that [Republican] congressional candidates lost in 2021 and 2022.”
Shortly after Youngkin’s video at the Reagan Library was released, he rolled out endorsements for 19 general assembly candidates, including six candidates facing contested primaries.
“The governor weighed in on a bunch of primaries because we have a great opportunity if we have really strong candidates,” the source close to Youngkin’s political operation said.
Polls show former President Trump leading the GOP primary pack with DeSantis coming in second place — heightening the stakes for Youngkin and his ability to break through if he indeed plunges into the primary field.
“Speculation from a political standpoint is always interesting and makes for a good story,” Anuzis said.