Big Sexy is Gone, or Is It?

Kilgore, Wilder, Allen, Saxman, and "Optionality"

Politico: Glenn Youngkin’s noticeable absence from the national conversation is a far cry from a year ago, when Youngkin was actively being courted to enter the race for POTUS. Jonathan Martin examines the current state of affairs with input from important Virginia political voices and wonders aloud about Youngkin’s future after Governor.

Kilgore: “Having relationships with Democrats and some of the folks in the Legislature, we’re human beings. People like to be — they like the governor calling them, talking to them and asking them what they think and not: ‘Here’s what I’m going to do.’

Wilder: “He doesn’t know Virginia politics and the Virginia governorship,”

Allen: “Gov. Youngkin understands the competition between states, that Virginia has been stagnant while our neighbors are booming, and he’s trying to turn that around. He could’ve made that the centerpiece of the campaign.”

Saxman: “Big sexy is gone. But people like him, that’s his strength, people just like him.”

Martin: The looming question, for Youngkin and any less-than-MAGA 2028 aspirant, is whether actual Republican voters want sunshine, smiles and a red-fleeced grin rather than an heir to the red-necktied scowl.

Youngkin, though, is also a businessman to his core. The word that invariably comes up talking to people who know him is: optionality. What’s for certain to many of those who know Youngkin, though, is that there’s an end goal.