‘Don't Maryland my Virginia': Youngkin, 2025 GOP ticket rallies together for first time ahead of key election
Youngkin, his potential successor, GOP nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, lieutenant gubernatorial nominee John Reid, Attorney General Jason Miyares and former FBI Agent Stewart Whitson; the Republican hoping to win a major upset for the late Rep. Gerry Connolly's seat, all spoke to a crowd of more than 500 that packed into the sweltering Vienna fire hall on Monday.
"Are you ready to sweep?" Youngkin fired up the crowd, hearkening back multiple times to his own sweep in 2021, when he, Earle-Sears and Miyares all won upset victories against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who was leading the Democratic ticket then.
Youngkin said he and the statewide candidates assembled all proved that Virginia could bounce back from the McAuliffe-Northam era, which he characterized as pockmarked by COVID-19 lockdowns, and businesses and families fleeing the state.
"The last time the Democrats had full control of the commonwealth of Virginia, they tried to turn her into California. Or as Winsome said, maybe even Maryland," Youngkin said, contrasting the Old Dominion with the Old Line State in terms of taxation, education and business-friendly environs.
Youngkin said that since about the end of the administration of Gov. Bob McDonnell in 2014, Virginia progressively sank to the bottom third of the U.S. in job growth, and a decade straight of more people leaving than moving in.
"Don't Maryland my Virginia," he said.
Across the Potomac, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been widely rumored as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, while Republicans, including predecessor Larry Hogan, have criticized tax hikes and budget woes.
Fox News Digital reached out to Moore for a response to Youngkin.
Both Youngkin and Earle-Sears had just returned from the Monday ribbon-cutting of the country's now-northernmost Buc-ee's travel center near Harrisonburg, which the duo said proved Virginia is "open for business" and added hundreds of jobs in Rockingham County.
That theme carried into Wednesday, as Earle-Sears pledged to build on the past four years of progress and focus on convincing rural communities that Richmond hasn't forgotten them.
There were also references made to New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens.
Earle-Sears warned that some candidates in Virginia in this year's election are espousing "ideas… that are socialist in nature."
Virginia's GOP ticket is notably diverse, with Earle-Sears, Reid – who would be the first gay statewide officeholder – and Miyares, who is of Cuban descent.
Outside the fire hall, amid sporadic thundershowers and incredible humidity, a few dozen left-wing demonstrators utilized a megaphone to protest the event, holding signs and banners claiming Republicans are trying to kill Medicaid.
Also in attendance was Whitson, who has a major climb to defeat Connolly confidant and Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw.
But the ex-G-man was upbeat, saying Democrats who ushered in years of "destructive" policies like DEI and reckless spending have "destroyed our economy," and the folks in the Washington suburbs he hopes to represent are realizing that as well.
"It's time for us to have a U.S. congressman in Northern Virginia who actually cares about the people and the issues that matter," he said.
Miyares reflected on the changes he's seen under four years of Republican control of the executive branch, quipping that Virginia in 2021 had been "like when you watch those mafia movies and the guy wakes up in the trunk of the Buick and he doesn't know where he's headed, but he knows it's not a good final destination."
Reid called Wednesday "commitment day," as he spoke before the assembled GOP ticket.
Miyares faces Del. Jerrauld "Jay" Jones, D-Norfolk, Reid faces state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, and Earle-Sears faces former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va, in the general election.
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