The crowd of Democrats gathered on the sweltering tiki-themed deck of Kilroy’s, a sports bar in deep-blue Northern Virginia, knew better than most people what’s at stake in their state’s November elections. But Tim Kaine, one of their party’s two US senators, reminded them anyway.
“I would argue that it’s the Virginia races – all 140 – that are going to send the most powerful message about where America is,” Kaine said Sunday of the contests for the state House and Senate while speaking before about 50 candidates and party activists at a fundraiser.
In two months, Virginia voters will cast the final ballots in the state’s odd-year legislative races, deciding whether Republicans will gain unilateral control of state government or be forced to share power with Democrats for two more years. The election results will offer both parties the clearest signs yet of where voters stand on issues such as abortion, crime, voting rights and the economy. They could also dramatically reshape the political future of the commonwealth and the rising Republican star who leads it, Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Youngkin, who rose to national prominence after winning the 2021 gubernatorial race by uniting moderate Republicans and supporters of former President Donald Trump, has leveraged his popularity into prolific fundraising for Spirit of Virginia, his state political action committee.
When asked about his political future, Youngkin and his team have insisted he is only interested in talking about the November 7 elections.
“What he has said is his focus is solely on the House and Senate races this year,” said David Rexrode, a senior adviser to Youngkin and chairman of the Spirit of Virginia PAC. “He’s doing town halls in Loudoun and Prince William and Stafford, not Manchester and Charleston.”
Despite that insistence, Youngkin has hinted…
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