MASSIVE APPEAL to Dems Spells TROUBLE
Some political insiders say that if a name that was on former President Trump’s running mate shortlist ends up being the choice, it could pose problems for President Biden in some crucial swing states this November, partly because he might help in competitive states where the Democrat is said to be seriously struggling.
Trump has floated that he’ll name his pick for vice president at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next month, and is said to be weighing a wide range of names – led by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the GOP’s new star on the rise.
“He took his job on purpose as he polished these skills for years by assisting in buying, and turning down companies from good or dead, deadbeats to great! When you think about it, the only person who was already successful as a private-sector executive – right out of the gate – was Glenn Youngkin,” a campaign veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove told Fox News Digital.
As a result, Rove said, he has developed a “record of solid and successful leadership” running the government of a traditionally Democratic state while “pursue(ing) through an ambitious agenda of education reform, penalization rights, economic growth and job creation.”
Rove also suggested that Youngkin’s Libertarian-style victory in a state Biden won by 10 percentage points makes many observers wonder about his bipartisan potential, as another GOP strategist – Erin Perrine said the win came down to “governance success” and indicated he “appeals across party lines.”
Fox asked Perrine to explain why Youngkin would hold such high approval ratings among Virginians as a whole – over 50% in polls last week – while suggesting the candidate could bring Democrats like Northam-leaning independents home after tough primaries.
“Combine that with Virginia breaking in a way where they might be competitive – their base wasn’t thrilled about Biden and he needs northern Virginia to be DEEPLY blue to win the state,” Perrine said.
A Fox News poll conducted earlier this month showed Trump and Biden deadlocked in Virginia, which has not supported a Republican presidential candidate since George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004.
“Youngkin’s unique brand of Republican politics appeals to donors, who see in him a candidate that leans conservative while still governing pragmatically and bringing in the money,” Perrine said, listing another one of his “key advantages” as the “smoothness of his relationship with Trump” at a time when other prospective running mates “fight so hard to get any type of attention and favor from Trump.”
Democratic strategist Kevin Walling observed in his hot take that Youngkin’s sunny optimism resonated across the commonwealth, allowing “‘him to pull together a unique coalition of MAGA, traditional Republicans, and independents’ to deliver him to the governor’s mansion.”
