This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury.
The Republican National Convention began Monday, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin helped kick off the festivities by celebrating former president Donald Trump, who became the party’s official nominee.
The gathering in Milwaukee, Wisconsin took place days after a shooter attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump’s ear was injured, two men were wounded and an attendee was killed at the July 13 event. Youngkin ordered flags raised at half-staff to honor the life of Corey Comparatore, who died shielding his family from the bullets while attending the Trump rally on Saturday.
In his RNC speech, Youngkin offered prayers for the victims and Trump, before pivoting to issues plaguing Americans like high mortgage rates, increased grocery and gas costs and “the silent thief of inflation, unleashed by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
Youngkin went on to reflect on his 2021 win as a Republican in a state that has trended Democratic over the past decade. He noted how, like Trump, he is an “outsider businessman” who brought his business background to politics.
“In November 2021, Virginians elected a Republican outsider businessman as their 74th governor,” Youngkin said as one of the featured speakers at Monday’s convention. “And I believe this year Virginia will elect another Republican outside businessman as president of the United States.”
Youngkin’s name had been among a few rumored to be considered for Trump’s vice presidential pick. By Monday afternoon, however, freshman Ohio senator and author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” J.D. Vance had been announced as Trump’s VP.
As he had when his name surfaced last year as a potential presidential candidate, Youngkin has kept his comments on national attention more narrowly focused on Virginia.
“I love my job. I love what we’re doing in Virginia,” he said recently.“I wake up every morning with a spring in my step and I go to work knowing Virginia is absolutely on a roll and it’s exciting to see it happen.”
Earlier in the day, Youngkin participated in a panel on policies to boost manufacturing. The appearance came shortly after Virginia reclaimed the top spot on CNBC’s annual ranking for best states to do business in — marking the sixth time the state has snagged the number one placement across multiple gubernatorial administrations.
With the Democratic National Convention set to convene next month in Chicago, President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Virginia’s Democratic Party reminded voters on Monday night that they had thwarted some of Youngkin’s goals as governor with their gains in last year’s House of Delegates elections.
Last year, Youngkin had propped up a 15-week ban on most abortions as a key platform for many GOP candidates. Democrats took control the the House and held their majority in the Senate.
“After voters rejected his plan to ban abortion by electing Democrats to take control of the state legislature in 2023, it is clear that Virginians want a change and reject Republican policies that push us back by generations, not move us forward into a brighter future,” DPVA chair Susan Swecker said in a statement Monday night.
