The New York Times dubbed Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin “a rising Republican star” while detailing how Youngkin is trying to grow his national brand.
Youngkin recently appeared in the news cycle in conjunction with his hand-written apology to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after he made a comment about her regarding the attack last month on her husband, Paul Pelosi. The Deseret News previously reported that he sent an apology and his spokesperson had said the comment didn’t get across Youngkin’s true intentions.
During the last year, some have been saying that Youngkin may be a 2024 presidential hopeful and is emerging as a national political figure. Here is an overview of who he is.
Who is Glenn Youngkin?
The Virginia governor was born and raised in the state. According to the National Governor’s Association, Youngkin grew up in Richmond and Virginia Beach. He earned degrees from Rice University and Harvard Business School before he began work at the Carlyle Group for 25 years. He is married with four children and is a practicing Christian.
Youngkin assumed the office of governor of Virginia in January, but gathered national attention during the campaign. After securing the nomination in May, The New York Times reported that he had said President Joe Biden won the election. Soon after he made this comment, during his gubernatorial campaign, former President Donald Trump endorsed Youngkin for office.
Some have speculated that he could have national political aspirations. Bloomberg characterized Youngkin’s demeanor and outreach on the campaign trail as cautiously trying to keep Trump “at arms-length” while also not offending rural voters.
Campbell Robertson wrote for The New York Times, “Such is the choreography that Mr. Youngkin has been performing in his first year as the ambitious Republican governor of a state that Joe Biden won handily in 2020.” Robertson said that in political circles, there’s talk of Youngkin potentially running for president in 2024. Axios styled Youngkin as Romney 2.0 while also noting “a slew of differences.”
The Associated Press reported that when Youngkin took office, the first thing he did was “sign an executive order designed to root out critical race theory from the state’s education system.” Youngkin has said that “we should teach all of our history, the good and the bad” and he believes that “divisive concepts” should be removed from the education system.
He introduced other legislation on the education front, which was part of his campaigning efforts. Youngkin’s administration has also introduced legislation that states children must use the restroom facilities and play on the school teams that align with their sex assigned at birth, per NPR.
Additionally, he also said that Virginia would protect the right to same sex marriage even if the Supreme Court did not. According to The Washington Post, “Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that he was right to tell a national TV audience that Virginia law protects same-sex marriage rights, even though such unions would be banned in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses itself on that issue.”
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney has criticized Youngkin for comments he made at a rally in support of Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and also praised him for how he has done as governor of Virginia. About Youngkin’s claimed support for Lake, The Hill reported that Cheney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “You know, I think they are really indefensible decisions. And, you know, I’ve said I think that Glenn Youngkin has done a good job as governor of Virginia, but nobody should be out advocating for the election of people who will not honor the sanctity of our elections process.”
On the economic front, Youngkin has cut taxes in Virginia while also increasing spending in education and law enforcement. The Washington Post said that supporters watched as he signed the state’s two year budget, which included $4 billion in tax cuts. He told the Post in an interview that he would spend time traveling around Virginia to listen to what people in the state needed.
When the Post asked about national political aspirations, he didn’t specify that he had any, but that still hasn’t stopped onlookers from wondering if he is positioning himself for a presidential run.