'On the edge of a razor': Youngkin tests new Trump playbook
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Glenn Youngkin needs Donald Trump. He just doesn't want to say the name.
On the debate stage Tuesday night, the Republican candidate in Virginia's governor's race repeatedly sidestepped comparisons to the former president. Youngkin avoided Trump’s most aggressive talking points on election fraud, border security and critical race theory. He also tried to dodge a question about whether he would support another Trump presidential bid, though Youngkin ultimately said he would.
“You’re running against me. It’s Terry McAuliffe against Glenn Youngkin,” Youngkin told his Democratic opponent. “The only person invoking Trump is you.”
Few Republicans in recent years have harnessed the energy of the Trump base with such cool rhetoric. And there is fear within Youngkin’s campaign that Trump or his loyalists could turn against Youngkin in the days before the Nov. 2 election. But if Youngkin is successful, his ability to navigate the delicate politics of the post-Trump presidency could offer the GOP a new playbook before next year’s midterm elections.
While there is no shortage of Republican candidates fighting for Trump’s support, another wing of the party is eager to move on, especially in states where the GOP is reeling from painful losses under Trump’s watch last fall. Control of Congress in 2022 will be decided not in Trump strongholds, but in swing states such Arizona, Georgia, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“So far, Glenn Youngkin has danced on the edge of a razor, and he’s not gotten cut,” said John Fredericks, who led Trump’s Virginia campaign last year. “He’s holding the Trump base together.”
Polls suggest that Youngkin's strategy could work. He is in a close race with McAuliffe, a former governor and...