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Now that the governor's race in Virginia is over, Republican Glenn Youngkin turns to the task of governing a state which moved from Democratic control at the top to the GOP but still has a senate led by Democrats.
Youngkin ran a campaign focused on countering Democratic ideas and policies. He touted plans to roll back Democrats' "left, liberal, progressive agenda" while he moved into head-to-head competition with Democrat Terry McAullife in a bid to replace outgoing Democratic Governor Ralph Northam. A surprising victory followed.
So a day after Youngkin attended a transition meeting outside of the Governor's Mansion in Richmond, Democrats began to settle in for a fight.
"We're the Senate Democratic Alamo," said one Democratic member, Scott Surovell, according to the Associated Press.
Some lawmakers, and the new governor-elect, were trying to tout bipartisanship as Youngkin approaches his first official day in office. However, deep divides remain following a campaign during which Youngkin aligned himself with former President Donald Trump and spent months refusing to acknowledge that President Joe Biden had been legitimately elected.
In a statement Friday, the state's Democratic Party chairwoman, Susan Swecker, said the "fight for Virginia's future" has begun.
Inauguration Day is January 15.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:
Days after Youngkin's defeat of McAuliffe, a former governor and longtime Democratic Party fundraiser, conversations in Richmond pivoted from campaign rhetoric to rosy talk of bipartisanship, with elected officials in both parties expressing hope that next year's legislative session will provide opportunity to find common ground. Youngkin is reaching out by phone to Democrats and Republicans and planning to meet with Senate lawmakers at a finance retreat later this month, according to Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment. He also joined Northam for lunch, and gave public remarks suggesting he might turn to the Democrat with questions.
"He said during the campaign he was going to govern in a bipartisan manner. His campaign was all about unifying Virginians under a specific vision for the future, and he intends to fulfill that promise," said Devin O'Malley, a Youngkin spokesman.
Youngkin did position himself during the campaign as a unifier who would transcend the nation's partisan rancor. But he also selectively engaged with the news media, sought to avoid specifics on controversial issues such as abortion and gun control.
In a statement after election night, he struck a conciliatory tone, thanking his supporters and saying to those who voted differently, "Thank you for fighting for what you believe in. I look forward to coming together and earning your support over the next four years."
The former private equity executive and first-time candidate campaigned on what he called a Day One game plan, most of which cannot be enacted on his first day because it will need legislative approval.
It includes a wide range of tax cuts, including the elimination of the state's grocery tax, a 12-month suspension of the gas tax and one-time rebates. His platform also calls for boosting funding for law enforcement, raising teacher pay, opening new charter schools, restoring the requirement to show a photo ID to vote, and banning critical race theory, which holds that racism is systemic in America's institutions. It is not being taught currently in any of the U.S.'s K-12 public schools, according to the National School Boards Association.
Youngkin, who is independently wealthy and has pledged to donate the salary he receives as governor to charity, set up a transition office in a state government building this week. He told a conservative radio host that Jeff Goettman, a top campaign staffer and former official in the Department of the Treasury under President Donald Trump, would chair his transition.
O'Malley said Youngkin visited a food bank and a mosque Friday and was making his way through an extensive, bipartisan call list. He declined comment on whether Youngkin had been in touch with Dominion Energy, a powerful player at the state Capitol that drew the candidate's ire after it backed a secretive anti-Youngkin political action committee.
No other details about key staffers or Cabinet members were immediately announced.
Dick Saslaw, the Senate majority leader, said he had a "very nice, friendly call" with Youngkin that didn't veer into policy.
