Washington Post columnist urges Youngkin to run for president in 2024

Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty made the case that Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin “or someone like him” “must” run for president in 2024. 

In a piece published Sunday, Tumulty celebrated recent reporting that alleged Youngkin had met with GOP megadonors in New York, calling the signals of a 2024 bid “good news.”

“There are plenty of Democrats who believe the man who campaigned as a sunny suburban dad in a zippered vest is really a Trump in fleece clothing. But Virginia — which was trending blue until his victory — is clearly warming up to Youngkin. His poll numbers have turned positive, and disapproval has shown a significant drop,” Tumulty wrote. 

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She continued, “The reason I’d like to see him — or someone like him — make a serious run for president has more to do with an existential crisis that faces our democracy. It is crucial that this country have a healthy two-party system. Someone must test the proposition that there are still enough sane Republicans out there to create a path to the nomination for a candidate who offers himself as an alternative, rather than an amplification, of the worst aspects of Trumpism.”

Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia, speaks prior to signing executive actions in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. Youngkin, former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group Inc., is the first Republican elected to the office since 2009.
(Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Post deputy editorial page editor sounded the alarm on rumors that former President Trump is set to announce his bid for the White House and took a swipe at “Trump wannabes,” specifically naming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as those who would replicate what she suggests were the consequences of the Trump presidency. 

“Youngkin, it should be noted, has played close to the Trumpian line in some areas, and sometimes crossed it. But his has been a balancing act,” Tumulty wrote. “He put ‘election integrity’ at the top of his priorities during his campaign, but also acknowledged Biden’s 2020 victory and called the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection ‘a real blight on our democracy.’ His first executive order banned teaching ‘inherently divisive concepts, including critical race theory,’ in K-12 public education, but he criticized his health commissioner, Colin Greene, for dismissing structural racism as a reason for poor Black maternal health.”

Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia, speaks to members of the media following a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at the Virginia Executive Mansion, in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. Youngkin, former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group Inc., is the first Republican elected to the office since 2009.
(Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Tumulty also highlighted Youngkin’s stance on abortion, which is in a favor of a 15-week ban with exceptions though he would sign a bill limiting a 20-week ban into law, acknowledging he’s “pro-life” but…