“Most party loyalists and insiders didn’t know much about him," said
Nearly nine months later, Gilbert and much of his party have come around.
A blank slate, Youngkin has scant public record to examine. He's self-funded much of his bid. He's proved to be a natural campaigner, deftly seizing on dissatisfaction with
But in substance,
Youngkin's chances may hinge on whether voters believe that characterization.
“How do we bring people together, as opposed to push them apart and separate them?” Youngkin said in a recent interview when asked about what inspired his run for office.
There's little doubt his approach is working with
Less than two weeks out from an election whose results are likely to ripple far beyond
But if Youngkin has trouble broadening his appeal in the state’s critical, swingy and moderate suburbs, it may stretch back to his fight for the
Youngkin told him “early on” in the nomination contest that Biden had legitimately won the election, Hobbs said. But Youngkin was facing “rabid” party activists who wanted to hear that the candidate shared their concerns about the election, said Hobbs, who described himself as a moderate who voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020.
“If he just dismissed it, no way he could have won the primary. I mean, just no way," said Hobbs, who allowed that maybe things would have been different if Youngkin had more time to campaign. "Once you meet him, you really don't care what he believes. You just go, ‘I want him to win.’”
Youngkin's campaign declined comment about Hobbs' remarks.
Now, as he courts independents and moderates, Youngkin talks about pumping the brakes on
He opposes mask and vaccine mandates, rails against critical race theory and wants to expand Virginia’s limited charter schools. He pitches substantial tax cuts, promises to overhaul dysfunctional state agencies, opposes a major clean energy mandate passed two years ago and objects to abortion in most circumstances.
In his ads and campaign appearances, he emphasizes he’s a “homegrown” Virginian.
Born just outside
The family relocated to
The 6-foot-6 Youngkin said he received a partial scholarship to attend a prestigious private school,
He wasn’t the best player, said teammate
After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering and managerial studies, he worked in investment banking before earning an MBA at
Youngkin, who retired from Carlyle in
Youngkin accumulated a fortune at the firm; one Forbes estimate says his net worth is roughly
His friends say Youngkin's rise up the professional ladder hasn't changed him and he remains down to earth, hardworking and humble.
In public, Youngkin, who dresses down in boots and zip-up fleece vests, is warm and upbeat, speaking with a folksy sincerity. ("Man, all right, this is just out-of-bounds awesome!" Youngkin said as he came on stage at a rally in
“He's earnest and he is honest. ... It's almost like a throwback. Glenn's a throwback of just old-school hard work," said Stock Watson, a childhood friend.
He’s been married to his wife, Suzanne, whom he calls “Suzie,” for 27 years, and the couple has four children, the oldest in his early 20s and the youngest in high school. He’s typically up before the sun.
“If you start checking your email at 7, there’s going to already be 10 emails, or 20, from Glenn,” said
Merrick also worships with the family at the nondenominational
According to Merrick, it was important to the Youngkins that the church offer an evangelical faith education course called Alpha, which Youngkin has said he's taken and which got its start at the church Holy
In an interview, Youngkin said his faith impresses on him the importance of loving others and informs his view that the deeply divided country needs to come back together.
Asked in the same interview whether his faith shapes his view of same-sex marriage, Youngkin responded with a vagueness common in his answers to questions about policy. He reiterated that he feels “called to love everyone.” Pressed on whether that was intended to convey support for same-sex marriage, he responded: “No,” before saying that gay marriage was “legally acceptable” in
The interview, the first Youngkin's campaign had granted to The Associated Press since he won the nomination, was cut off by campaign aides when the subject turned to his policy positions.
Youngkin often talks about his faith on the campaign trail, where he sports a small yellow bracelet with an inscription about prayer. At the recent rally in
He's also used his religion to attack others. At the
Northam’s spokeswoman,
But overall, many voters say much of his appeal is in his kinder, softer approach to politics. He lingers at events, listening and asking questions of the voters who often crowd around him afterward.
"Just to talk to him, you feel like he has your interests at heart. He’s not a politician,” said
Some longtime observers say they haven’t seen a similar type of enthusiasm for a candidate for statewide office since the 1990s.
Gilbert, the
“This is going to be a historic effort when it’s all said and done,” he predicted.
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