As delegates and party chieftains from all 50 states and six territories began arriving Sunday in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, the volume began moving upward on talk of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin as Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate.
The Trump-Youngkin momentum sped up last week when Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters he was suggesting the Virginia governor as a vice presidential candidate. Over the weekend, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, appearing on Bill Maher's TV show, sidestepped the Big Three favorites for VP — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance — and called on Trump to tap Youngkin.
"If you really want to play the game, I want to win the election, pick Youngkin in Virginia," McCarthy told Maher. "Put Youngkin in play and the race is over."
Most of those who spoke to Newsmax at the Milwaukee convention seconded McCarthy's view — that Youngkin, who won the Old Dominion governorship in an upset three years ago — would put his state's 13 electoral votes in Trump's column and vault him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
"Win Virginia and it's all over," Michigan GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra told us.
California GOP National Committeeman Shawn Steel agreed, emphasizing that "Youngkin knows how to win tough elections in deeply purple states. He's a dedicated conservative interested in getting others elected besides himself. He has kept his promises, and his political infrastructure throughout Virginia is strong. He is one of the best choices possible."
Youngkin spoke at a recent fundraising event for the GOP in Orange County, California and is scheduled to address a breakfast with South Carolina's high-dollar Republican contributors at the Milwaukee convention.
Others suggest that Youngkin is acceptable to the party's conservative base and to major contributors.
"Look at what he's done in a swing state — cut taxes, advanced parental rights, governed as a conservative and remained incredibly popular — not too shabby!" Mississippi's former GOP National Committeeman Henry Barbour told Newsmax. "Glenn Youngkin helped put a state back into the competitive column and a blue one at that. His future is bright because he's talented, a unifier and focused on getting results. There is something special with Youngkin."
Scholars of Virginia politics who know Youngkin generally second the view that he would play an important role in providing balance to a Trump ticket and putting the former president over the top.
Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, told us, "If Trump can flip Virginia red, that upends the whole Democratic strategy to win the Electoral College. Biden has a narrow path, focused on Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Without Virginia, he's going to have to win his three key states plus in a far less-likely state such as Georgia or North Carolina or both Arizona and Nevada (or Arizona and a couple of congressional districts). Youngkin's smooth and reassuring demeanor would stand as a needed contrast to Trump's persona, and the Virginia governor in 2021 showed that a very conservative Republican with the right message can appeal to swing voters."
As to whether Youngkin is being considered along with the big three, a Floridian who knows the nominee-in-waiting and requested anonymity reminded us that "Donald Trump remains, as always, a showman. He would love to surprise his audience when announcing a running mate just as he did in dealing with contestants on 'The Celebrity Apprentice.' Don't rule out any surprises."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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