RICHMOND, VA — The entire Virginia Republican ticket received a high-profile boost on Thursday as former President Donald Trump and current Governor Glenn Youngkin headlined a joint tele-rally. The event aimed to galvanize support across the board, even as Trump notably continues to withhold a formal, official endorsement for gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The rally stumped for the full Republican slate: Earle-Sears, who is vying to succeed the term-limited Youngkin; Richmond broadcaster John Reid for lieutenant governor; Attorney General Jason Miyares for re-election; and the GOP’s House of Delegates candidates. Republicans are pushing hard to flip the three seats needed to regain a majority in the House.
The State of the Races
Recent polling paints a mixed picture for the GOP ticket:
- Governor’s Race: Earle-Sears is facing an uphill battle, trailing former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger by several points. Her campaign, however, maintains the race is closer than publicly reported.
- Attorney General’s Race: The news is better for the incumbent. Attorney General Jason Miyares is currently leading Democrat Jay Jones, whose campaign has been hampered by a recent scandal involving old text messages.
- Lieutenant Governor’s Race: The contest between John Reid and state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) remains tight, with polls showing them either tied or within the margin of error.
Trump’s Calculated Distance
The tele-rally follows a strategy reminiscent of Youngkin’s successful 2021 bid, where a last-minute Trump event for the full ticket was credited with providing the final surge of votes. A source familiar with the event noted that Youngkin specifically urged voters to support the full ticket to ensure the continuation of his “commonsense, conservative leadership.”
Despite appearing at the joint rally and voicing general support, Trump has explicitly declined to offer an official endorsement to Earle-Sears this cycle—a stark contrast to his formal backing of Jack Ciattarelli in the similarly blue-leaning New Jersey governor’s race.
This move underscores a delicate strategic balance for Virginia Republicans: leveraging Trump’s popularity to energize the conservative base in deep-red areas like the southwestern counties (Lee, Wise, Dickenson, and Tazewell), while maintaining enough distance to avoid alienating anti-Trump independent and moderate voters in the critical Washington, D.C., collar counties (Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, etc.)—the same formula that propelled Youngkin past Terry McAuliffe in 2021.
Drawing Out-of-State Support
While awaiting a full Trump endorsement, Earle-Sears has welcomed other national conservative figures.
- Vivek Ramaswamy has officially endorsed Earle-Sears, with a rally planned in a swing suburb next week.
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a rising GOP star, headlined a rally for her earlier in the week in New Baltimore, alongside Miyares and embattled Republican Delegates in tough races.
The race remains a high-stakes affair, with local GOP leaders, like House Minority Whip Michael Webert, warning that the election will determine the future of the state and even impact federal representation for years to come.
