Leahy: The Presidential Chatter About Youngkin Misses the Obvious
It’s July in a midterm election year, which means it’s time for political prognosticators to look deeply into their tea cups to divine who is likely to run for the major party presidential nominations in 2024.
Among the names being dropped around these parts is Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Though the Youngkin boomlet might flatter his ego, cheer his staff and make it even easier for him to book time on Fox News, it’s time for a reality check.
Youngkin won’t be a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
It won’t be for lack of ambition, like so many Virginia governors before him. Youngkin might wake up every morning humming “Hail to the Chief” as he stares in the bathroom mirror, but reality has crushed every single one of those momentary reveries.
The odds are too long, the competition — with or without former president Donald Trump in the mix — will be too fierce. And the cost? Youngkin is a wealthy man, but national contests can make chumps of even the wealthiest (just ask former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg about his $900 million flop in the 2020 Democratic primaries).
Instead, the most realistic play for the commonwealth’s tyro is the Senate — a challenge to Sen. Tim Kaine (D) in 2024 or Sen. Mark R. Warner (D) in 2026.
