The chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) confirmed the party considers Virginia “competitive” for former President Donald Trump in his campaign to retake the White House in November, pointing toward the 2021 victory by Governor Glenn Youngkin as evidence conservatives can still win statewide elections in the commonwealth.
RNC Chair Michael Whatley told The Richmond Times-Dispatch on Wednesday that Virginia will be competitive for the Trump campaign after Youngkin showed “how a Republican can win Virginia” with his 2021 victory.
“Look, we see Gov. Youngkin as a trailblazer,” Whatley told the outlet. “I think it’s a competitive state, and we saw from Gov. Youngkin during his campaign back in 2021 how a Republican can win Virginia,” which he explained involves a “common sense campaign” based on identifying problems faced by Virginia families and providing solutions.
Whatley later acknowledged to the outlet, “Virginia is a purple state. You’re not going to be able to win with just Republican voters,” but added that the same is true for Democrats.
“You’re going to have to compete in the middle. You’re going to have to compete for the independents, and you’re going to have to have a conversation with every Virginia family,” Whatley told the Times-Dispatch. “That’s what we want to do.”
At press time, the RealClearPolling average of surveys only included one poll pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against Trump in the commonwealth. This poll shows Harris leading by 5 points, but President Joe Biden reportedly called off his campaign after polling showed him losing to Trump in Virginia.
German-owned Politico reported Biden came to his decision to withdraw from the race after his campaign commissioned battleground state polling, which showed “Biden not just trailing in all six critical swing states but collapsing in places like Virginia and New Mexico where Democrats had not planned on needing to spend massive resources to win.”
The RealClearPolling average also showed that Trump took a lead over Biden immediately before the 81-year-old president left the race, with the former president enjoying a 2 percent lead in the Old Dominion on July 19.
Trump last visited Virginia in late June for a political rally in Chesapeake, but Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio), the Republican nominee for vice president, held his own rally in Radford on July 21.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin.
