Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to interview Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin for my podcast, ‘Water Cooler Politics with Chris Arps.” Mr. Youngkin is a first time candidate who was formerly the co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, a multinational private equity firm headquartered in Washington D. C.

The Virginia governors’ contest is always an interesting race to watch. It occurs the year after a presidential cycle and the result has been a litmus test for the Party that controls the White House.

From 1977 to 2017, (forty years!) the Party that wins the White usually loses the Virginia governors’ mansion. The only exception has been former Governor Terry McCauliffe who bucked the trend in 2013 when he won election while President Obama was in office.

Currently,  the Senate is evenly split with Democrats having a razor thin edge in the House, but they are governing as if they have a mandate.  Suburban voters in November rejected President Trump but they weren’t necessarily voting for trillion dollar spending plans and Green New Deals. They are governing instead as if they know they will lose their majorities in next year’s midterm elections.

Mr. Youngkin believes, despite the fact Virginia has been trending blue the last few cycles, that Virginia is poised to make a return to the red column. Youngkin says the reason is partly due to Governor Northrum’s barbaric suggestion that babies born after failed abortions should still be murdered – outside of the womb.

“So, I am pro-life. I am rooted in my faith, grounded in my faith, and I’ll tell you one of the things that I think that we’ve sometimes failed or forget that there is a Lord. He wants us to love Him. He wants to love our neighbors.. Listen, what Governor Northam has done is just a terrible statement about abortion today. I can’t believe that he actually stood up and talked about what to do with a child after birth. I just can’t believe it..We’ve got a governor who’s talked about taking care of a child after they’ve been born, to decide whether they’re going to allow them to live or not? That’s amoral. And so, I don’t think there’s any way we’re going to put a stop to this until we get back the governor’s office.” SOURCES: WMAL WINA

If Republicans take over the House and Senate next year, A Republican gubernatorial victory in November could be the precursor for that. You can hear more of Glenn Youngkin’s views below.