Venture capitalist Glenn Youngkin emerged with the Virginia GOP's gubernatorial nomination on Monday after the party finished tallying the votes cast during its "unassembled" convention on Saturday. It will be almost a month before Youngkin learns the identity of his opponent in this fall’s general election, though, because Old Dominion Democrats are holding a traditional state-run primary on June 8.
Youngkin led businessman Pete Snyder, who was the only other candidate who spent heavily on TV and radio ads, 33-26 in the first round of this instant-runoff contest and ultimately prevailed 55-45 in the sixth and final round of tabulations. Both Synder and another major contender, former state House Speaker Kirk Cox, were quick to back the new nominee, but far-right state Sen. Amanda Chase, who finished third, was far from ready to take part in any unity breakfast.
Chase had said in March that she’d run as an independent if Snyder won but would accept a Youngkin or Cox victory. Once Youngkin actually won, though, she was no longer quite so accommodating. Chase instead labeled the convention “rigged” and warned, “While I will have more to say in the days ahead I'm spending the rest of the week at the beach with my hubby for a trip we planned months ago.”
Republicans are hoping that Youngkin, a wealthy first time-candidate, will boost their prospects in Virginia, where Team Red last won a statewide race back in 2009. Democrats, though, have wasted no time working to tie the newly minted nominee to Donald Trump, who lost the state 54-44 last year.
Youngkin himself spent the nomination battle refusing to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory and running ads that featured Trump praising him as a “great guy.” But if Youngkin thought he’d be able to leave Trump behind now that the convention's concluded, he got a rude awakening Tuesday when Trump issued a non-tweet endorsement―a development that the Virginia Scope’s Brandon Jarvis says caught the campaign by surprise, but no doubt delighted Democrats.