Former President Donald Trump and Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin met this week to discuss efforts to flip Virginia to the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election, according to a source briefed on the matter by Fox News Digital.
A source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Trump and Youngkin discussed recent polls that show Trump running neck and neck with President Biden in the state after Biden won the state by 10 points in 2020. The meeting also discussed ways for Trump to outpace Biden as the election cycle becomes more competitive.
The two also discussed energy, inflation and trade issues. The meeting was believed to be the first between the 45th president and Governor-elect Youngkin in the 2021 state elections.
Youngkin will be the state’s first Republican governor since Bob McDonnell served from 2010 to 2014.
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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and former President Donald Trump meet ahead of the 2024 election. (Trump camp)
Virginia has voted Democrat in every presidential election since President Barack Obama first ran in 2008. Virginia is not considered a battleground state in the 2024 election because of the large number of people who work in nearby Washington, D.C., but recent polls suggest the race could be closer than expected.
Youngkin has previously said Virginia is a “swing state” that could potentially give Trump a victory in November.
“I think Virginia is going to be a hot issue. Remember, Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 points in 2020. I won the following year by 2 points. What we’ve demonstrated is that common sense conservative policies work, and Virginians appreciate that,” Youngkin said in an interview with radio host and Fox News contributor Guy Benson last month.
Biden won the state by 10 percentage points over Trump in 2020. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran against Trump in the 2016 election, but Democrats also won Virginia, with Clinton winning 49.8% of the vote to Trump’s 44.4%.
A Fox News poll released earlier this month found the 45th president and Biden tied in the Old Dominion State, with support at 48% each.
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In the multi-candidate race, Biden has 42% of the vote, Trump has 41%, Democrat-turned-independent Robert K. Kennedy has 9%, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West have 2% each.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin joined other Republican governors in criticizing President Biden’s energy policies during a June 3, 2024, press conference at an oil refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Youngkin won the governor’s office in 2021 with President Trump’s support, but he and Trump have never met in person.
Republicans also won the Virginia lieutenant governor and attorney general elections, marking the party’s first statewide victories in 12 years, and won the state House of Representatives, energizing Republicans nationwide in a state that had been dominated by Democrats for the past decade.
But Democrats recaptured their majority in the state House of Representatives and maintained control of the state Senate last November, a setback for Youngkin, who led the Republican offensive in the campaign, even though his name did not appear on the ballot.
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“I think that the very fact that we’re having this conversation today is a perfect reflection of the change in perspective not only of the power that Donald Trump brings to the presidency, but also the weakness that Joe Biden has shown,” Youngkin said in an interview with McCollum on Fox News this month.
“The economy is weak, national security is weak, the border is in disarray, energy is weak and the American people and the Virginian people want change. That’s why I think states that weren’t swing states in 2016 could be swing states this year. It’s still early days, but this strength of President Trump is evident not just in Virginia but across the country and I think Virginians and the American people want change.”
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin addresses a crowd during an early voting rally in Petersburg, Virginia, on Sept. 21, 2023. Youngkin said his soon-to-be-released budget proposal for the next two fiscal years will include increased state spending on early childhood education and child care programs. In his Dec. 7 speech, Youngkin said a key aim of the proposal is to ensure that families do not fall into poverty when pandemic-era federal funding used to expand these efforts ends. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
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Looking ahead to this fall’s election, Youngkin said he has his “full support” for Trump and “we’re going to campaign hard to win this election.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd during a campaign event in Pickens, South Carolina, on July 1, 2023. (Shawn Rayford/Getty Images)
There was speculation last year that Youngkin might make a run for the White House himself, but the governor remained focused on his home state. A source with knowledge of Youngkin’s meeting with Trump told Fox News Digital that the two did not discuss his possible running as vice presidential candidate.
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When asked in an earlier interview about a possible run for office in 2028, Youngkin pivoted and said his priority is “to be the best governor I can be in our state. I can honestly say, I love this job. We’ve made great progress, and I have nearly two more years to continue doing for Virginia what Virginians want me to do.”
