Republicans look to Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin as Trump rival

The first order of business for Glenn Youngkin has been to ban critical race theory, mask mandates in schools and make the state’s diversity chief an ‘ambassador for unborn children’.

Glenn Youngkin kept his distance from Donald Trump during his campaign in Democrat-leaning Virginia. Picture: AFP

Orders banning critical race theory and mask mandates in schools marked a dynamic start for Glenn Youngkin as governor of Virginia, with aides having to rebut suggestions that the new Republican star had national ambitions.

Youngkin, 55, jumped back into the “culture wars” that helped him to win a close-fought election by making the state’s diversity chief an “ambassador for unborn children” and has drawn comparisons with Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor seen as a potential White House challenger.

He has signed a series of executive orders and issued plans for legislation requiring voters to show photo ID and creating more public charter schools, although these would need support from the Democrat-held state senate.

Hi there. Arlington county parent here (don’t believe you are @GlennYoungkin but correct me if I am wrong). Thank you to @APSVirginia for standing up for our kids, teachers and administrators and their safety in the midst of a transmissible variant. https://t.co/6UeNIYoZCU

— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 17, 2022

Youngkin kept his distance from Donald Trump during his campaign in the Democrat-leaning state, relying on low-tax, local and anti-woke issues in a way that led some Republicans to see a blueprint for moving the party beyond the former president.

Jen Psaki, President Biden’s spokeswoman, tweeted her support for a legal challenge to Youngkin’s order giving parents the right to choose whether their children wear masks. The mask situation remains confused and highly charged as children return to school, with the order due to take effect today (Monday) but being contested in court. Youngkin said on Friday that he was confident the Virginia Supreme Court would rule “in the favour of parents”.

Kristin Davison, an adviser to Youngkin, told The Washington Post that the national attention was “all organic”. She said: “He’s not even focused on the national front. That doesn’t mean the national front isn’t focusing on him.”

The Times