Youngkin Says Trump Has Good Shot Of Winning Virginia

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said this week that former President Donald Trump had a significant chance of winning his state, which no GOP nominee has done in 20 years. The statement came after two polls showed Trump tied with President Joe Biden.

Youngkin cited Biden’s 10% victory in the state four years ago and said that “the fact that we’re having this discussion is a huge turn of events.”

The governor added, “We’re here in June and there’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge, but Virginia looks like it’s in play and that’s pretty exciting.”

The governor is supporting the president and said that he would “enthusiastically campaign in order to win this thing.”

A Fox News poll was the latest showing the two candidates tied in Virginia. The survey taken after Trump’s felony conviction was announced had Trump and Biden each with 48%.

Biden has lost support among a series of demographic groups, including a share of Virginia’s Black voters.

Trump is polling better in Virginia at this point than Youngkin was in mid-October 2021 (only down 2.2% in RCP)

Virginia is Biden’s state to lose but the fact we’re even talking about it at all with less than five months to go speaks volumes about the state of this election.

— Red Eagle Politics (@RedEaglePatriot) June 8, 2024

The Virginia poll came amid a series of surveys showing Trump competitive or ahead in a number of swing states.

Trump has also pulled even with Biden in Minnesota, according to two recent polls.

The poll result could reflect a major shift toward the Republican Party. Although the state voted mostly Republican for several decades, there was a significant shift during and after the campaign of former President Barack Obama, who won the state in 2008 and 2012.

The state has undergone a series of changes over the last generation. A number of white-collar workers have moved in and around northern Virginia. Furthermore, the expansion of the power of Washington D.C. and associated agencies have led to increased flows of residents who generally vote for Democrats.

Republicans have won several victories in the state since its shift to the left. Trump narrowly lost the state in 2016. Youngkin was elected in 2021, marking the GOP’s first win of the governor’s mansion in three terms.