In the final weeks of a toss-up Virginia governor’s race, Glenn Youngkin’s campaign wants allies to stay on message. That is if they are even permitted to speak at events alongside the candidate.
In a strategy call with Virginia Republicans about a bus tour of the state kicking off on Saturday, a recording of which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, Youngkin and his top campaign consultant and strategist Jeff Roe explained their strategy to target persuadable voters in the final 10 days of the campaign by controlling who speaks when, regardless of whether it hurts people’s feelings.
“This is not going to be a ‘Republican revival’ Commonwealth tour. It’s not got, you know, pictures of, you know, all the former presidents, you know, on the side of the bus rolling down the interstate,” Roe said. “This is a messaging tour. Every stop is going to have a message assigned to it, be it education, be it cost of living, or jobs.”
“Hopefully nobody is taping this and giving it to the Washington Post,” Roe added.
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Roe, founder and CEO of the Axiom Strategies consulting firm, went on to explain to down-ballot candidates that they should not all expect to get a chance to speak when they make stops with Youngkin.
“We will be assigning people to speak, and not speak” based on the topic at each stop, Roe said. “Sometimes people can get bruised feelings and whatnot, and I just want to make sure that you understood that our emphasis here is the culture of Glenn Youngkin.”
“We also have to be very diligent and determined to execute the plan. And that’s gonna mean everybody on this call will probably not be highlighted during our tour,” Roe said. “Everybody is going to want to speak and I want to make sure that everybody understands, if you’re not able to speak, it’s not because we don’t want to hear your lovely voice. It’s because we have a narrative and a message that we’re driving to the persuadable voters.”
Pressure to stay on message to appeal to swing voters and constraints on the number of supporters who can speak on campaign stops are par for the course in any electoral campaign.
But the direction from the Youngkin campaign demonstrates a core dynamic in the race: Avoid coming off as an extremist as his Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe, who is seeking a second non-consecutive gubernatorial term, focuses on tying Youngkin to former President Donald Trump and radical policies.
Youngkin, a first-time candidate and former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group private equity firm, has a shot to be the first Republican-elected governor in Democratic-trending Virginia for the first time since 2009.
An Oct. 16-19 Monmouth University poll found Youngkin and McAuliffe tied at 46% among registered voters, with voter engagement on schools and the coronavirus pandemic driving Youngkin’s improved standing.
But while Youngkin has successfully defined his campaign on his own candidacy and issues without alienating the Trumpian wing of the party, the “MAGA” right threatens to derail that progress and turn off swing voters.
Last week, a “Take Back Virginia Rally” included “Trump in heels” state Sen. Amanda Chase, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon (whom the House on Thursday voted to hold in contempt of Congress for refusing to respond to a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot), and a call-in from Trump.
Youngkin did not attend the rally.
During that event, Trump repeated his claim that he actually won the 2020 election. Attendees recited the pledge of allegiance to an American flag that was reportedly carried at the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 before the Capitol attack.
Youngkin said in a statement that it is “weird and wrong” to pledge allegiance to a flag connected to Jan. 6.
McAuliffe has centered his own campaign on casting Youngkin as an extremist clone of Trump, picturing the two together in campaign ads and prominently noting Trump’s endorsement of Youngkin in mailers.
Youngkin joked in a gubernatorial debate that McAuliffe made bettors in Las Vegas some money because of how many times he mentioned Trump.
McAuliffe has also tried to cast Youngkin as an extremist on abortion, pouncing on the Texas law that banned abortion after six weeks and pointing to an undercover video in which Youngkin said that while he is opposed to abortion, he can’t stress it as a campaign issue because it “won’t win my independent votes that I have to get.”
But polls showing McAuliffe is tied with Youngkin in a state that President Joe Biden won by 10 points in 2020 signals trouble for his campaign. Biden’s poor approval ratings could be part of the blame.
“We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington, as you know. President Biden is unpopular today, unfortunately, here in Virginia, so we have got to plow through,” McAuliffe said on a recent virtual meeting with Virginia Democrats.
As Youngkin sets off on his bus tour, McAuliffe is bringing in Democratic heavy hitters to stump for him, including Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Terry is panicking, let me just tell you, this guy is panicking. It is amazing to watch. I think if anybody has run for office, as a Democrat in the last 50 years, Terry’s bringing them in to campaign with,” Youngkin said on the Friday call. “Terry is failing, and his party knows it. And it’s just fun to watch them flail around.”
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“We’re gonna be pretty tight, we’re gonna be on message and we’re gonna deliver — we’re going to get the corn all the way down where the chickens can eat it. And these persuadable voters, if they can’t choose between Terry and Glenn at this point, we’ve got to get the corn down pretty low to the ground,” Roe said on the call.
The Youngkin campaign did not add any additional comment for this story.
