Gov. Glenn Youngkin is hauling in big bucks ahead of November’s closely watched legislative elections in Virginia as the Republican governor aims for total GOP control of the state government.
Youngkin’s shattering of fundraising records in the commonwealth is sure to create even more buzz among some in the GOP donor class who want the popular governor to consider a late entry into the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.
Youngkin hauled in $4.4 million in 48 hours this week for his Spirit of Virginia PAC, officials with the group told Fox News. That brings to $7.45 million the amount of money Youngkin has raked in through the group in the final quarter of fundraising ahead of the Nov. 7 elections.
Officials with the PAC highlight that Youngkin’s haul is nearly five times greater than the previous fundraising record, which was the $1.6 million then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe raised in 2015.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin addresses the crowd during an early voting rally in Petersburg, Virginia, on Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Youngkin energized Republicans nationwide with his 2021 election victory. That is when he edged out McAuliffe — who was seeking to win back his old job — to become the first GOP nominee in a dozen years to win a gubernatorial election in Virginia, a one-time swing state that has trended Democratic over the past decade.
Republicans also swept the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general, and narrowly captured the majority in the Virginia House of Delegates.
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Youngkin aims to hold the GOP majority in the House and recapture control of the state Senate, where Democrats currently hold a fragile majority. Total Republican control of the state government in Richmond would allow Youngkin to push through his conservative agenda.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin aims to hold the GOP majority in the state’s House and recapture control of the state’s Senate. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
With November’s contests in Virginia seen as a barometer of the political climate ahead of next year’s elections, both major parties are investing heavily in the commonwealth.
The Democratic National Committee has dished out $1.5 million in the state’s elections, with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee spending some $2 million.
“Gov. Youngkin has now raised $15.5 million since March 1, 2023, to support our candidates,” Spirit of Virginia chairman Dave Rexrode said in a statement. “There is too much at stake and with five weeks to go, we know the progressive liberal left will continue to outraise and outspend us. Gov. Youngkin is all in on making Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
The PAC says it has roughly $7 million in cash on hand with just over a month until Virginia’s elections.
Reacting to the Youngkin fundraising news, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee National Communications Director Abhi Rahman told Fox News that “thanks to our amazing grassroots and donor level support, so far we’ve been able to keep pace with Gov. Youngkin flooding the state with MAGA billionaire dollars in an effort to strip Virginians of the fundamental freedoms we hold near and dear.”
Rahman also argued that “the future of the commonwealth, reproductive healthcare in the South and fundamental freedoms of all Virginians depend on it. We are all hands on deck to show Youngkin and his billionaires that they cannot buy an abortion ban in Virginia.”
The blockbuster victory in November 2021 by the first-time candidate who hailed from the business wing of the GOP turned Youngkin — a champion of parental rights in schools — into a rising star in the party, and fueled talk of a 2024 White House run.
But Youngkin has repeatedly said this year that his total political focus was on his state’s elections, rather than on the 2024 presidential contest.
“I’ve told you, I’m totally focused on Virginia elections and that’s what we are going to get done,” Youngkin told Fox News anchor John Roberts in an interview on “America Reports” late last month, when asked if he would “rule out” running for president in 2024.
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But in recent weeks, some top conservative donors who don’t support former President Donald Trump — the current commanding frontrunner in the GOP nomination race — have quietly increased their efforts to persuade Youngkin to run for the White House.
Many of those top dollar contributors will be meeting with Youngkin at a donor summit in Virginia Beach on Oct. 17-18.
Among those contributing to the Spirit of Virginia PAC is GOP megadonor Thomas Peterffy, who donated another $1 million. Peterffy has said he’d like to see Youngkin jump into the White House race.