Former President Trump is already deeply involved in the 2022 midterm elections, headlining fundraisers and backing primary challengers, but he has yet to weigh in on one of November’s few races: the vote for Virginia’s next governor.
While a number of the GOP candidates in the field have embraced the former president and his policies, Virginia has been trending blue in recent years, making Trump’s potential presence — or absence — the contest’s key X-factor.
“Even though this election nationally is likely to be seen as the first election of 2022, I think it’s doubtful that Trump would get involved in Virginia, and if he did, it would be a negative, not a positive” for Republicans, said veteran Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth.
GOP state and federal lawmakers from Virginia experienced critical losses during Trump’s tenure.
Democratic Virginia Reps. Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton all ousted Republican incumbents in 2018, contributing to the Democratic takeover in the House.
The party also won control of the Virginia General Assembly in 2019, giving the Democrats total control of the commonwealth’s government for the first time since 1994.