Tipsheet

Gov. Youngkin Addresses 'Commonwealth's Agenda' in the Face of Divided Government

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 08, 2023 4:30 PM

On Tuesday night, Decision Desk HQ made the call that Democrats in Virginia kept control of the state Senate and won control of the House of Delegates as well. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), who had valiantly fought for Republican candidates, addressed the press from on Wednesday afternoon to do with "the Commonwealth's Agenda."

Youngkin acknowledged he was "disappointed" in the results, and that "that's a natural reality" when races don't go one's way. He also thanked and expressed appreciation for the candidates who ran, especially the "extraordinary number" of new members.

In his remarks, Youngkin kept a practical tone, pointing to where he and the soon-to-be fully Democratically-controlled state legislature could find areas of common ground. "I look forward to working with the house and the senate going forward just like we have, and finding these most important areas of making sure we're reining in the cost of living, that we are providing some tax relief, that we continue to stand up for excellence in education, and safe communities, and transformation in behavioral health and a government that works for Virginians, and provide services and responsiveness that reflects the fact that we work for 8.7 million bosses," he shared, talking about areas that have been priorities of his. 

"And I do believe that we can find that continued path to making Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family. I'm very proud of what we have accomplished together, a divided government that demonstrates that, yes, we can do this. And I'm optimistic that we can continue to find a path forward," Youngkin continued, bringing up a point he's raised since he ran for governor.

The issue of costs was one that Youngkin stuck to throughout his remarks, pointing out "we recognize that cost of living is a real challenge, we recognize that we need to grow jobs and create economic activity, and the progress that we've made over the course of the last two years has truly lead the nation in so many ways."

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While Youngkin's quest for unified Republican state government ultimately came up short, the full results point to how the situation is not so dire. The governor spoke to how there were "razor thin" margins in many races, and also how Virginia "has historically moved back-and-forth from control of one party in the legislature to control in the others, to governor's races, to very, very thin margins," which he said they saw on Tuesday night.

The governor too pointed to this as a positive note. "I think what that reflects is that we are a state that is very comfortable working together, working across party lines, in order to get things done," pointing out that that's what he's done with a divided govermment, committing to continuing to do that.

When it comes to the tally, Republicans look to have 19 seats in the state Senate, which means they'll actually have gained a seat. In the House of Delegates, Democrats will likely have only a handful of seats in their majority, as it looks like Republicans will have 49 seats in that chamber.

Shortly before Youngkin made his remarks, the Spirit of Virginia PAC Chairman Dave Rexrode released a memo, which he also shared to his X account. Among the key takeaways is that Republican candidates still won in districts that President Joe Biden won in 2020, and even that Congressional Democrats won in 2022. They also came quite close in districts carried by Biden, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe--the Democratic governor from 2014-2018 who also ran against Youngkin in 2021--and Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton.

"It appears that when all votes are counted, the statewide margin between votes cast for Republican candidates vs. votes cast for Democrat candidates will be one percent and neither side got a majority of the vote.  This once again illustrates how close and competitive this election cycle truly was," Rexrode mentioned.

Youngkin's Secure Your Vote Virginia initative to encourage early voting also looks to have had "a major impact on the outcome."

As has been the case with Republican losses across the country on Tuesday night, it was a funding issue. "Virginia Democrats had President Joe Biden, the DNC, the DLCC, extreme environmental groups,special-interest billionaires, liberal dark money networks, the far-left Governor of Illinois, and countless others who poured millions of dollars into Virginia’s elections," Rexrode mentioned.

However, just as Youngkin expressed optimism, so did Rexrode. "Governor Youngkin governed in a bipartisan manner over the last two years and is delivering significant progress for Virginia families by lowering taxes, growing jobs, empowering parents, transforming our behavioral health system, and supporting Virginia students, teachers, and law enforcement. By all measures, Virginians remain overwhelmingly supportive of the governor personally and the job he is doing. That work will continue," he laid out.

Although not mentioned in the memo, Republicans are also celebrating how embattled Buta Biberaj, of the particularly embattled Loudoun County--where school rapes and fentanyl deaths were covered up--was ousted as commonwealth attorney. While the Soros-backed and McAuliffe-aligned commonwealth attorney had been soft-on-crime in other areas, she chose to go after Scott Smith, a father who erupted at June 2021 at a school board meeting in reaction to the cover-up of his daughter's rape. Youngkin pardoned him in September.

No matter how narrow their majority, though, Democrats will still control the House of Delegates, and the one to lead them is a particularly noteworthy member, Del. Don Scott. When speaking to The Wall Street Journal shortly before Election Day, Scott had some rather inartful words suggesting violence as a way to express his view that Republicans would face losses. 

"To Democrats, Youngkin is ripe for a comeuppance," the piece noted, going on to quote Scott as saying "I think he thinks he’s cracked the code," who then added "But he’s going to get his head cracked."

Townhall readers may recall how Scott has had it out against Youngkin from the start of his administration, as he expressed his view that the governor wasn't even a Christian because of his executive orders on mask mandates and Critical Race Theory (CRT) in school. He also dishonestly claimed that the governor wanted to do away with celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and raised issues with Youngkin traveling to Maine to campaign for other gubernatorial candidates, despite the governor going above and beyond what's required by law for reimbursing taxpayers.

Scott will certainly be one to watch here, especially as he has more control now than he did at the start of Youngkin's administration.