Republicans congratulated Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday night after his victory over Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe.
“I was proud to endorse @GlennYoungkin,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tweeted. “His win tonight is a clear and much needed signal for personal freedom and that parents are the deciders of their children’s education and future.”
Youngkin defeated McAuliffe, who served as governor of Virginia 2014-2018, despite the commonwealth trending increasingly toward Democrats over the last decade, most recently after President Biden won by double digits in 2020.
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“Congratulations to Glenn Youngkin, Winsome Sears, and Jason Miyares on their resounding victories,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R- Ark., wrote on Twitter. “Virginians will benefit from their leadership. Thank you to Biden & Garland for the assist! Concerned parents don’t like being called domestic terrorists. Who could’ve guessed?”
Virginia’s off-year election is often viewed as a key indicator of where voters stand ahead of midterm elections, especially after the control of the White House switched hands as a result of the 2020 election.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who recently held his own event in the state, weighed in as well, saying Youngkin’s victory was a sign of a “conservative comeback.”
“Congratulations to Governor @GlennYoungkinon a HUGE victory! Glenn will serve the people of Old Dominion well with common sense Conservative policies that will benefit parents, families, and hard-working Virginians! The Conservative Comeback is HERE!,” Pence wrote.
Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who also formerly served as the governor of South Carolina, also weighed in, expressing optimism that Youngkin would take Virginia in the right direction.
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“Congratulations to @GlennYoungkin,” Haley wrote. “He is a rockstar and I have full confidence that he will make Virginia proud!”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called Youngkin’s victory a possible “political earthquake” after Youngkin became the first GOP candidate to win a statewide election in the commonwealth in over a decade.
“This could be a political earthquake,” Hawley said.
