Youngkin’s path splits these three ways after terrible night for GOP

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) fiercely campaigned in the uphill battle in Virginia for the GOP to have majorities in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate, but after Democrats narrowly won both chambers on Tuesday, the governor’s future has become less clear.

Democrats flipped the House of Delegates and held the state Senate, thanks in part to favorable new legislative maps for Democrats, meaning Youngkin will have to work with a Democratic legislature for his final two years in office. Because Youngkin cannot run for a second consecutive term as governor, due to state law, here are three moves Youngkin could make after leaving office in 2026.

THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM A ROUGH 2023 ELECTION FOR THE GOP

Run for Senate

One of the top options for Youngkin after his four years as governor could be to challenge former governor and current Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) for his seat in 2026.

Warner was first elected in 2008 and was subsequently reelected in 2014 and 2020. His 2014 reelection race was a tight race against Ed Gillespie, which saw the incumbent only win by roughly 18,000 votes, or less than 1%.

Youngkin has remained popular throughout his governorship in the Old Dominion, and his term ending in January 2026 lines up well to run for Senate in November 2026.

Run for president in 2028

While a 2024 run for president is almost certainly off the table for Youngkin, a 2028 run is an option for the Virginia Republican.

Having won in 2021 and maintaining popularity throughout his tenure in a state widely believed to be increasingly Democratic, Youngkin can make a convincing national case for the GOP.

If the Republicans win the presidency with a candidate other than Trump, who would be term-limited in 2028 if elected in 2024, then the window closes for Youngkin to run in 2028. If Trump wins or the GOP loses in the presidential race next year, Youngkin would likely be one of the top contenders on the Republican side.

Not seek another office

Youngkin entered politics as an outsider when he ran for governor in 2021, and he very well could leave politics after his term of governor ends in January 2026.

His exit from politics could be short-lived, gearing up for a run for a different office or for governor again in 2029, or he could move into a political organization or be a contributor to a network such as CNN or Fox News. Youngkin could also make a run for a role in the Republican Party, as speculated by the Washington Examiner’s Tiana Lowe Doescher on Fox News’s Your World with Neil Cavuto.

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“And with that being said, when you compare what the national GOP has done over the last six years to what Gov. Youngkin has been able to do in the last two, I could see someone like Gov. Youngkin trying to run the RNC and doing quite a better than what we’ve gotten,” Doescher said. “You know, staying out of the Trump mania, the Trump twister, is always a good strategy, and you can afford to do it on a state level.”

The Virginia governor has not shared his plans past the 2023 election, but with two years remaining in his term, he does not need to make a decision on his political future for some time.