Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin surprised donors when he announced he would not be running for president. A reporter asked him if he was running and he simply said “no”, then saying he was focused on Virginia. It was the direct answer he’s given about the campaign. This comes as a surprise as a major billionaire donor to Ron DeSantis jumped ship and started supporting Youngkin’s political action committee after he felt DeSantis was too restrictive with his abortion bill.
Youngkin might have served as a fantasy to some donors, a level headed, conservative governor who would be a strong general election candidate. Still, he didn’t have much charisma, and hadn’t really gone on the offensive against Trump, giving a lack of rationale for his candidacy. He most likely saw DeSantis’s shrinking poll numbers and realized that is simply wasn’t worth the risk,
But former Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers appears likely to jump in. He served 14 years in the house, but his last year was 2015, making him less of a relevant figure. Still, he served on the House Intelligence Committee which is probably the most visible and newsmaking committee in congress. He’s been around South Carolina, meeting with donors and “kicking the tires” to see if a run is feasible.
He toured a correctional facility there and discussed ideas on criminal justice reform.
He took a small jab at Trump saying, “Americans know something’s wrong, and they know that small and petty politics that you see today, is not going to fix it. So I think there’s a lane for someone who is both sober and solution-minded and optimistic about how we get there with innovation.”
Good luck, he’s gonna need it.
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