{UAH} THE WAR HAS BEGUN ->Part four

First-time candidate Glenn Youngkin wins Virginia GOP gubernatorial nomination

by Emily Brooks, Political Reporter 

 

May 10, 2021 10:11 PM

Glenn Youngkin will headline 2021’s marquee election contest as the Republican nominee for governor of Virginia.

Results from the Virginia Republican Party’s “unassembled” ranked-choice contest cast on Saturday and tabulated Monday put Youngkin at over 50% of allocated delegates in the sixth round of tabulation after 13 hours of counting.

Youngkin, 54, is the former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group private equity firm who retired from the firm last summer. A first-time candidate, Youngkin has the ability to self-fund his campaign to a large extent and flaunts his political novice as keeping him free to make decisions without having years of political relationships to maintain.

After getting a basketball scholarship at Rice University, the 6-foot, 6-inch Youngkin attended Harvard Business School before returning to northern Virginia with his wife. They have four children together.

In an appeal to what has emerged as a top grassroots issue for conservatives, Youngkin’s campaign launched an “election integrity task force.” His plan includes updating voter rolls monthly, requiring not only a voter's signature but that of an observer on mail-in ballots, and ensuring observers can watch the vote-counting process.

He will likely face former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is running for a second term after a one-term break because the Virginia state constitution prohibits the governor from holding consecutive terms, is the front-runner to win the Democratic nomination. Democrats are holding a traditional primary on June 8, a month after the Republican convention.

Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial race is often seen as a measure of the national mood in the year following the election of a new president, and Republicans are eager to use the race to show disapproval of President Joe Biden. Republicans, though, have not won a statewide race in the blue-trending state since 2009, and election analysts forecast that Democrats have an edge in 2021.

The nomination was decided by an unpredictable “unassembled” convention rather than a primary race, in which preregistered, approved delegates, unable to gather in a traditional convention space, voted at 36 different locations on Saturday with a ranked-choice ballot to simulate rounds in a convention hall. Votes were tabulated by a hand count of ballots, delaying results, with the governor’s race starting to be counted on Monday morning.

Aside from Youngkin, top candidates in the race included Amanda Chase, a second-term state senator often called “Trump in heels”; Kirk Cox, a 30-year state delegate and former state House speaker; and Pete Snyder, an entrepreneur and former lieutenant governor candidate.

Former President Donald Trump declined to endorse a candidate in the nomination battle, adding to the chaotic nature of the race.

More than 30,500 people voted in the race, of more than 53,000 registered. That's up from 8,000 participants in the 2013 convention but down from the 378,000 who voted in the 2017 Republican primary.

Youngkin received the most raw votes in the first round of voting preferences, and delegate allocation was weighted by Republican support in each county. In the first round, Youngkin started with 32.9%, followed by 25.8% for Snyder, 20.8% for Chase, and 13.5% for Cox.

Minor candidates were eliminated in early rounds: Peter Doran, an author and former think tank leader who wants to eliminate Virginia’s state income tax, Octavia Johnson, former Roanoke city sheriff, and Sergio de la Pena, a former Army colonel and former deputy assistant secretary of defense under Trump.

The race went to a final sixth round of reallocation between Cox and Snyder after Chase was eliminated. Snyder conceded near the start of the final round, counting after Youngkin crossed the 50% mark.
Virginia’s Republican Party has been historically averse to open primaries for fear of Democrats in the no-party-registration state swaying the race or an ideologically extreme candidate winning the nomination. But the frequent changes in the convention format and rules frustrated campaigns and candidates, who spent much time and resources explaining the process to voters. Chase alleged that the process was rigged to benefit Snyder and threatened to run as an independent if he won.

Snyder and Youngkin were the top fundraisers in the race, and each of the businessmen loaned their own campaigns more than $5 million as of March 31. In the final days of the race, Snyder touted an endorsement from former White House press secretary and now Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders, while Youngkin campaigned with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Snyder released a six-figure television ad on Monday before results were counted in an apparent show of confidence about his position. The ad attacked McAuliffe on his relationship with teachers unions in the wake of pandemic-prompted school closures.

Virginia Democrats on Monday wasted no time in painting Youngkin in a negative light.

“In Glenn Youngkin, the Virginia GOP has nominated a far-right extremist who has demonstrated total allegiance to Donald Trump," said Democratic state party Chairwoman Susan Swecker. "Throughout this campaign, Youngkin has advanced Trump’s dangerous election conspiracy theories, opposed critical COVID-19 relief for working families and small businesses, and threatened to gut Virginians’ health care. Virginians have repeatedly rejected Trump’s dangerous extremism — and this November, they will reject Glenn Youngkin too."

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