Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R-VA) deputy is convinced the popular Republican is not planning an immediate 2024 presidential bid and is instead eager to build a majority in the state Senate that will help push through his conservative agenda.
Asked if Youngkin would be a good GOP alternative in the next presidential election, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears told Secrets, “No, no, he is focused on this election in 2023. He’s told all of us.”
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She added, “No one knows except God and he what he will do. But I know that he is a very humble man.”
Despite the state trending Democratic over the past decade, Youngkin has continued to build his approval rating and is one of the most popular governors in years. He has tried to deliver on his education and tax promises and is eager for more wins.
Virginia Senate Democrats hold a slim advantage, and Earle-Sears said the governor is campaigning to close the gap to a 20-20 tie or better. “If we get to 20, I’m calling that victory because I’m the 21st senator, you might as well say,” she said of her role as the Senate tiebreaker.
The governor’s focus is especially on the budget and spending committees, she said. But there is no parity. The state Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, for example, is split 10 Democrats to five Republicans. “We’ve got to change that, and 20-20 will get us there. Everything else is, like we say in New York, butter,” said Earle-Sears, who spent part of her youth in New York with her father before joining the Marine Corps and eventually marrying and moving to Winchester, Virginia.
Recent polls have shown that Youngkin would beat President Joe Biden in Virginia. He has made some trips to key political states but indicated he plans to stick to the commonwealth. The media have been egging him on, but it is unclear if he could break through in the early caucus and primary states, where some dozen Republicans are fighting for attention.
When Secrets suggested he could also be an attractive vice presidential nominee, Earle-Sears said, “And Jesus could come by then.”
She likes working with Youngkin’s team, a relationship that started during their 2021 campaign. In her autobiography, she details the close relationship developed during that campaign.
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“We were a tight unit. Like I said, we could finish one another’s stump speeches. Glenn was the leader, as he should be,” she wrote in How Sweet It Is, set for release next week from publisher Center Street.
She told Secrets that since the election, “we’ve acted as a team.” That includes Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares. “We know that we’ve got to. First of all, make sure we fulfill the promises that we make. We don’t want to be like whoever else. And so we have a charge,” she said of the trio.
