Youngkin Hitting Campaign Trail As Speculation Swirls Over Possible WH Plans (Newsmax)
By Fran Beyer | Monday, 19 September 2022 10:31 AM EDT
Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to jump onto the campaign trail for Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake in October — and it reportedly may be ahead of his own possible 2024 presidential bid.
Youngkin's Arizona trip is part of nationwide campaign tour to push Republican candidates, Politico has reported. He's so far traveled to Nevada and Michigan and is bound for Kansas later this week.
But Lake will be the highest-profile candidate with former President Donald Trump's backing that the Virginia governor has campaigned for, Politico reported. Polls have shown her in a tight race with Arizona's Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.
According to Politico, Youngkin is expected to hold political and fundraising events for Lake. But on other trips, he'll probably single out education policy — the issue he championed in his upset 2021 win in Virginia's race, wooing suburban voters who'd turned against the GOP during the Trump administration.
In a statement, Youngkin praised Arizona's termed-out chief executive, Doug Ducey, and said the state "deserves another Republican governor," the news outlet reported.
Although Lake has appealed to Trump's conservative backers, she's also started looking for backing from mainstream Republican figures in Arizona at the encouragement of Arizona GOP mega-donor Jim Click, Politico reported.
"We were very impressed," Click told Politico after a meeting with her. "I think she's going to do very well, I think she's going to help us down-ballot."
Click also praised Youngkin, saying he'd be a "good candidate" for the White House, though he said it's too early to get behind just one candidate for the 2024 race.
Politico reported Youngkin's already launched a pair of PACs that can fund his political activities, and has appeared at high-profile conservative events sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute and Susan B. Anthony List, which opposes abortion.
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's also raised speculation he's aiming for a White House run, hit the campaign trail for Lake last month, Politico reported.