Go back 12 months, and Glenn Youngkin’s name recognition was less than 2% in the state of Virginia, according to Randy Russell, The Russell Group.
Today, Youngkin, a Republican, is the governor-elect for Virginia.
“This is a state that President Joe Biden won by ten-and-a-half percentage points, so he (Youngkin) was able to tap into something in order to win,” Russell says
Russell believes that “something” was frustrated parents who want more say over the quality of education their kids get in public schools.
“The defining moment was in one of the final debates when then Governor Terry McAuliffe looked at Glenn Youngkin and said parents should not be involved with kids’ curriculum,” Russell recalls. “Having come off a pandemic where the parents had to sit at computer screens with their young kids and see what was being taught, what they’re reading, and what the curriculum is – that really turned this election around. It led Youngkin to victory over a previous governor who had 100% name recognition.”
In addition to Youngkin’s victory, Winsome Sears, a conservative Republican and former marine, will be the state’s next lieutenant governor. Sears is the first woman and first woman of color in the office for Virginia.
Further east in New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy barely squeaked out a victory in an unexpectedly tight race with Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
Russell says the Republican wins in Virginia and the near-loss by Murphy in New Jersey are a “wake-up call” for Democrats, who hold slim majorities in both the House and Senate. A total of 469 seats in the U.S. Congress (34 Senate seats and all 435 House seats) are up for election on Nov. 8, 2022.
“I think there’s a very high degree of probability that the House flips,” Russell says. “I think what’s even more interesting now is that the Senate may flip as well. That has major implications for farm legislation as we do the farm bill in 2023.”
Listen to Russell’s complete conservation with Chip Flory in an AgriTalk segment that aired on Thursday:
