PURCELLVILLE, VIRGINIA — With just weeks left in office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) is making a final, fervent push to cement his legacy and keep Virginia on the path he insists has brought the state back to life.
At a campaign rally for Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Youngkin stepped onstage in a navy blazer and open-collar shirt, his voice confident and upbeat as he launched into his closing argument for Republicans. “Elections have consequences,” he thundered. “And the consequences as of next Tuesday are about to be fabulous for the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Framing the election as a “fork in the road,” he cast the choice before voters as moral and economic. “When we choose the right path, when we chase common-sense conservative values, Virginia thrives,” he said. “When we go down the wrong path, Virginia suffers.”
He spoke of “dignity in work,” of jobs that “bring purpose and independence,” and of an economy he said was humming again. He ticked through figures like a quarterly report: 277,000 more Virginians working than when he took office and 200,000 open jobs waiting to be filled, fueled by record levels of business investment. “That’s more investment than the last five administrations combined,” he said. “Jobs are opportunity. Jobs are dignity. Those words, ‘You’re hired,’ mean more than just a paycheck.”
For Youngkin, the rally was more than a campaign stop. It was an argument about what he leaves behind. Term-limited and out of office in January, he is trying to prove that his brand of “common-sense conservative” leadership can survive beyond him, and that his economic record, not partisan clashes, will define his time in Richmond.
He arrived in 2021 as a wealthy political newcomer who spent decades at the Carlyle Group and poured millions of his own fortune into an outsider campaign that capitalized on suburban frustration with pandemic-era school closures. He kept his distance from Donald Trump and made education his rallying cry, seizing on Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s debate-stage remark that parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach.
“It was a model campaign,” said longtime GOP strategist Brian Kirwin. “He reintroduced new plays for how to win statewide. He united a fractured party and changed the tone of Virginia politics.”
Once in office, Youngkin made good on that promise to put parents “back in charge.” He rolled back pandemic restrictions, rewrote academic standards, overhauled school leadership, and reshaped higher-education boards. Virginia quickly became a national testing ground for the cultural battles that defined post-pandemic politics.
But Youngkin’s allies say his larger test was governing through gridlock. Justin Discigil, a spokesman for the governor’s Spirit of Virginia PAC, said Youngkin has shown “what common-sense conservative leadership can deliver in any state,” noting that he has “always had to work with a legislature that is split or outright controlled by Democrats” yet still produced “real, tangible, practical impacts,” including a $10 billion surplus, $9 billion in tax relief, 277,000 more Virginians working, and a 30% drop in the murder rate.
Discigil stressed that unlike other Republican governors with compliant legislatures, Youngkin “has never had that luxury. His entire term, he’s had to negotiate with Democrats who fought him at every turn. That makes his results even more remarkable.”
Kirwin said the ability to govern through opposition may be Youngkin’s most enduring skill. “He had Louise Lucas leading a unified Senate Democratic effort to oppose him at every turn, and he still managed to pass budgets, keep surpluses, and move the economy forward,” he said. “That’s his legacy, how to govern effectively with legislative opposition.”
Attorney General Jason Miyares, one of Youngkin’s closest political partners, called the past four years “the most remarkable turnaround any state has seen in modern American history” in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
“The Virginia he inherited was dying,” Miyares said. “We were near the bottom in job creation, 48th in the country, and for eight straight years more Virginians were moving out than moving in, something that hadn’t happened in a century. What Gov. Youngkin has done, $9 billion in tax relief, over $1 billion of regulations cut, and $140 billion in investment, is extraordinary. Virginians are safer today, more people are working, more businesses are opening. He’s leaving a Virginia that is strong and prosperous.”
Youngkin’s emphasis on business recruitment has been central to that message. He often points to major manufacturing and technology investments and says Virginia is once again “open for business.” He told supporters that companies from around the world are investing in Virginia, citing record job growth and new projects announced under his administration.
Still, the road has not been without setbacks. After early legislative victories, Youngkin faced sharp headwinds in 2023, when his effort to expand Republican power in Richmond fell short. He poured millions of dollars and weeks of travel into recruiting and promoting candidates, urging them to rally behind a proposed 15-week abortion limit as a pragmatic compromise. But when the votes were counted, Democrats retained control of the Senate and flipped the House.
Kirwin said the outcome underscored the limits of even a popular governor’s reach. “Virginia is always going to be a 50-50 state,” he said. “You can run the perfect campaign, spend a fortune, and still lose a few thousand votes here or there that change everything. The electorate in Virginia pulls you back to the middle whether you like it or not.”
Discigil echoed that view, arguing that the results masked how close the races were. He said Republicans came within a few thousand votes of holding their majority and flipping the Senate, with razor-thin margins in districts “specifically drawn to make it hard for Republicans to win.” The governor, he added, “ran through the tape, he didn’t hedge, he didn’t slow down.”
Those same partisan divides derailed one of Youngkin’s biggest ambitions: a high-profile deal to move the Washington Wizards and Capitals from D.C. to a new arena in Alexandria. The governor had spent months courting business leaders, negotiating with the teams’ ownership, and touting the proposal as what he called a “transformational economic opportunity” that would anchor thousands of jobs in northern Virginia. But the governor was never able to work the same magic with members of the General Assembly who had to sign off on the project.
Discigil said Youngkin viewed the arena plan as “a missed opportunity for Virginia, not for himself,” arguing that Democrats blocked “a billion-dollar economic development opportunity that would have delivered a ton of jobs and a ton of economic benefit for the people of Virginia.”
Kirwin said the episode fit a familiar pattern. “Every governor I’ve ever watched tries to bring a pro sports team to Virginia,” he said. “They all run into the same brick wall, politics and parochialism. The difference is that Youngkin actually had a deal ready to go, and it collapsed because the other side didn’t want to give him a win.”
Now, even as his term winds down, Youngkin is battling a new Democratic redistricting plan that Republicans say would erase much of the political ground he gained. Discigil called it “a nakedly partisan power grab,” saying Democrats were trying to “overturn what the vast majority of Virginians themselves decided on years ago” and erase Republican representation across much of the state. Democrats argue the move is both lawful and necessary to counter GOP-led states that have already redrawn their maps to add Republican seats at Trump’s urging.
Youngkin’s popularity remains relatively strong as voters prepare to elect his successor. A July 2025 Commonwealth Poll showed him with a 49% approval rating and 39% disapproval, with his support highest among Republicans and lowest among Democrats. His approval is also viewed as a key indicator for the 2025 gubernatorial elections, a measure of whether Virginia’s rightward tilt under his tenure has staying power.
Among his supporters, enthusiasm remains high. Kathleen Hannon, 55, said it would be difficult to see a Democrat take over after Youngkin. “He’s had such great success, I don’t know why people would, you know, not want to continue that now,” she said. “Winsome Sears has been obviously behind him the whole time during his tenure.”
Cyndi Steele, 80, of Orange County, said Youngkin has been a popular and personable leader. “I got to meet Glenn Youngkin. He was awesome,” she said. “I went down to Richmond, went to the State Capitol, and so I got to meet him and quite a few other people there. And I feel what he stands for is wonderful. I stand behind him and I’ll stand behind Winsome Earle-Sears.”
Still, public polling suggests Youngkin’s political magic may be hard to replicate. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Democrat Abigail Spanberger leads Earle-Sears 52.1% to 43.2%, an 8.9-point advantage that has remained steady through late October.
The newest individual surveys show a similar picture: The Hill/Emerson poll has Spanberger ahead 55% to 44%, Echelon Insights finds her leading 55% to 43%, and Atlas Intel puts the race at 54% to 45%, all underscoring a consistent Democratic edge heading into Election Day.
Despite the obstacles, Youngkin’s political operation remains active. His Spirit of Virginia PAC has funneled about $900,000 into this year’s elections in recent months, $650,000 to Earle-Sears, $50,000 to Miyares, who is seeking reelection; $50,000 to Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Reid; and $150,000 to the state GOP, according to campaign finance records. He and Trump recently joined a tele-town hall urging Republicans to “get off the sidelines and vote,” repeating a tactic that helped propel his 2021 win.
Kirwin said Youngkin’s future is wide open and “has every door available,” from a federal appointment to another statewide run or even a national campaign. Discigil said what’s certain is that Youngkin will remain active in Republican politics. “The governor is one of the most sought-after surrogates, not only in Virginia, but across the country,” he said, adding that many in the party view Youngkin as “a very successful model for how common-sense conservatives can win anywhere.”
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Before leaving the stage, Youngkin turned his focus to the immediate future and to the candidate hoping to succeed him. As the crowd roared, his voice climbed higher. “The eyes of the world are on Virginia, and I want them there, because I also know that our Lord watches over Virginia,” he said. “And when we get out to vote, we win. When you get out to vote, Virginia has a future that will bypass any expectations.”