Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury
Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury
Copyright 2021, Virginia Mercury He’s ultra-rich, enjoys tubing and shotguns and, until a few months ago, was virtually unknown in Virginia political circles. Glenn Youngkin emerged as the Virginia GOP’s nominee for governor on Monday after a relatively drama-free day of vote counting that saw the 54-year-old former CEO of the Carlyle Group maintain a comfortable lead through successive rounds of vote counting in the ranked-choice contest. “I am prepared to lead, excited to serve and profoundly humbled by the trust the people have placed in me,” Youngkin wrote in a tweet. “Virginians have made it clear that they are ready for a political outsider with proven business experience to bring real change in Richmond.”
Glenn Youngkin, the multimillionaire businessman who sought to cast himself as a political outsider with the best chance to challenge Democratic power, will represent Republicans in the race to become Virginiaâs next governor.
Youngkin prevailed Monday night as entrepreneur Pete Snyder, his final rival for the nomination, conceded during the sixth round of vote counting at the Richmond Marriott.
The 54-year-old from Fairfax County was a late entrant in the campaign, with little name recognition in the tight-knit Virginia GOP, which tasked a relatively small number of party loyalists with choosing its nominee in a convention.
Fueled by his own fortune, Youngkin, former CEO of a global investment firm, used the biggest war chest in the race to promote stricter voting laws, the protection of the stateâs right-to-work status, under which membership in a union cannot be a condition of employment, and the end of âliberalâ influence on public schools.
Opinion | The Virginia GOP exorcised a few political ghosts washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.