Kaine raises Youngkin 2024 threat to raise money

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) is raising the specter of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) challenging him in 2024.

In an apparent bid to raise money and excitement, Kaine sent a note to supporters this week suggesting that Youngkin, one of the most popular commonwealth governors in decades, is eyeing a Senate bid since he is term-limited.

WHITE HOUSE DOWNPLAYS DIPLOMATIC TREMORS CAUSED BY BIDEN’S DICTATOR COMMENT

What’s more, he indicated Youngkin could win and that when combined with the expected Republican pickup in West Virginia with Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) retirement, Democrats could lose control of the chamber.

“Joe Manchin, my colleague from West Virginia, recently announced that he won’t be seeking reelection next year — which means that every single incumbent Democrat on the ballot in 2024 MUST hold on to their seat if we have any hope of retaining our majority,” Kaine warned.

“We cannot risk a Republican Senate majority in 2024 — but that’s exactly what will happen if I lose my race. And with speculation that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin could challenge me next year, now is not the time to get complacent,” Kaine wrote.

Youngkin has been the focus of political speculation ever since his stunning win over former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2021. Most had suggested that his goal was to run for president, but he instead kept his promise to help out in Republican races this fall, an effort that fell short.

SEE THE LATEST POLITICAL NEWS AND BUZZ FROM WASHINGTON SECRETS

Kaine is considered a good bet to win reelection and faces no serious threat from the GOP.

However, Virginia is considered a presidential battleground state in which the anticipated rerun of President Joe Biden vs. former President Donald Trump could have an impact. Biden won Virginia easily, but his poor approval ratings hurt McAuliffe a year later. And Biden’s popularity in Virginia has sunk, as it has around the country.