Tipsheet

Whether He's the Running Mate or Not, Glenn Youngkin Looks to Have a Role in Helping Trump

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  June 25, 2024 8:00 PM

Although he wasn't on the list of names circulating earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has been recently mentioned as a possible running mate for former and potentially future President Donald Trump. This is especially as Trump himself said "I think I could consider that" when asked recently by Fox News if Youngkin was on the list. There's been all kinds of increased chatter about the pick overall, though it's repeatedly stressed only Trump knows. Such speculation could also all turn out to be for naught. Even if Youngkin isn't Trump's running mate, though, he's still looking to help the presumptive Republican nominee, via a rally on Friday, the day after Thursday's hotly anticipated debate between Trump and President Joe Biden.

Last Friday, CBS News' Olivia Rinaldi posted about the rally as well as Youngkin's attendance. The rally will take place in the Virginia Beach/Chesapeake area. Rinaldi also noted that it will be "Youngkin's first appearance with Trump on the campaign trail."

There's been only more of a conversation about Youngkin from there, especially after the governor spoke at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference over the weekend. Youngkin's pinned post is a brief but nevertheless powerful clip of his speech discussing the importance of the November election.

"We must put builders back in charge, and that is our mission between now and November 5! We must expand our majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, we must take control of the U.S. Senate, and we must put Donald J. Trump back in the White House," Youngkin declared, to applause from the audience. 

Also over the weekend, Shaun Kenney of The Republican Standard offered some insight about whether Youngkin could end up being Trump's running mate, mostly why he doesn't believe he will be the pick [Emphasis original]:

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Then there is one additional wildcard. What if — and this is more if than what — Trump selects Youngkin as his VP nod?

Of course, you may have seen some percolation where Virginia might be in play and just might be put into the Trump column if only — IF ONLY! — Trump’s advisors were wise enough, smart enough, intelligent enough to put Youngkin on the ticket.

Consultants would make a killing, wouldn’t they?

The hard reality is that Youngkin doesn’t bring much to the table on a national level ticket for Trump. It is much more likely that Youngkin is aiming for a US Senate bid with a trajectory that puts him into national consideration in the future — though he would not turn down a VP slot if offered. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) or former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) add something to the ticket.

However. . . should Youngkin get the VP nod? Not only will it be on the Youngkin apparatus to deliver Virginia to the Republican column, but Hung Cao must follow suit as well. All of this against a Beltway-inspired fifth column, against Tim Kaine’s considerable war chest, against a national and state media apparatus not terribly disposed to a Republican resurgency, and to top it all off? Colleges and universities will be back in session, and the likelihood — not possibility — of violence from the political left remains high if not certain.

Kenney an excellent point on how Youngkin on the ticket would make it necessary for that ticket to win Virginia, as well as for Republican nominee Hung Cao to defeat Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine come November. Kenney did also point to how Cao, who handily won his primary last week, has an "outstanding" resume, though that could be a tricky race, even trickier than Trump looking to win the commonwealth.

Virginia, which has voted for the Democratic candidate for president every year since 2008, is still considered to favor Biden more so than Trump. That being said, it looks to be more up for grabs than it has been in the past, and RealClearPolitics does have it in the "Toss-Up" category. 

Kenney also notes that Youngkin may have his own sights set on the U.S. Senate. It's a move that former governors, like both Kaine and Sen. Mark Warner, Virginia's other Democratic senator, tend to go for. Virginia's constitution prohibits governors from serving back to back terms.

When it comes to that chatter about who he will pick as his running mate, Trump himself reportedly claims that he has picked his running mate, though as Saturday he hadn't told this person yet. That person will be at the debate on Thursday, though, so one more aspect of the debate to stay tuned for.