Elections

Youngkin’s White House Dream May Push Virginia Further to the Right

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If Republicans are able to win both houses in November’s state election, prepare to see a radical raft of policies by Gov. Glenn Youngkin as he sets his sights on the White House.

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A photo illustration showing Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia.
Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images

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Director of Research for The States Project, Aaron Kleinman, tells The New Abnormal why Virginia’s state election in November is crucial, not just for locals but for the U.S. as a whole.

Kleinman says his group is pouring big bucks into a number of key races ahead of the Nov. 7 vote, with a couple of seats set to determine whether Republicans, or indeed Democrats, are able to capture both houses.

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He said if Republicans are able to control Virginia’s House and Senate, then you can expect Gov. Glenn Youngkin to ram through a radical right-wing agenda on residents of the purple state.

“Virginia has another governor with national ambitions and Youngkin is the biggest funder by far of the right’s legislative efforts. He’s again, really tapping into that far-right money tree to help them get elected. So he’s going to try to press an agenda that can get him elected nationally. And we’ve seen what the right wing’s primary electorate looks like,” he told Andy Levy. “So nothing’s off the table here. He can’t run for re-election, he’s not thinking about re-election. He’s not thinking about what’s best for the country. He’s thinking about what can make him president and enacting a lot of far-right wishlists… So it’s really kind of an alarming thing that could happen here.”

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Kleinman said that could see Youngkin reverse his position on a 15-week abortion ban to something much more restrictive, enact book bans, erode LGBT rights, and remove a lot of environmental protections.

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