Va. GOP statewide candidates absent from Trump’s tele-rally to boost Republican ticket
Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the exclusion of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor, along with lieutenant governor nominee John Reid and Attorney General Jason Miyares, was Trump’s decision, not the campaign’s
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On the eve of Virginia’s statewide elections, President Donald Trump held a tele-rally aimed at boosting Republican turnout — but the GOP’s three statewide nominees were not invited to join the call, according to reporting from NewsNation.
Only Gov. Glenn Youngkin participated, even though the event was billed as a get-out-the-vote push for the party’s ticket.
Youngkin said the exclusion of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor, along with lieutenant governor nominee John Reid and Attorney General Jason Miyares, was Trump’s decision, not the campaign’s.
“It was just me. Nobody else was either,” Youngkin said. “He just asked to do it with me.”
Trump has taken different approaches in the two gubernatorial contests on the ballot this year. He fully endorsed New Jersey Republican Jack Ciattarelli earlier in that state’s primary season, but in Virginia he has stopped short of a formal endorsement of Earle-Sears, even as he has offered public praise for her candidacy.
Youngkin pushed back when asked why Trump still hasn’t officially endorsed Earle-Sears.
“He has come out very favorably about the lieutenant governor. He called her an excellent candidate. He called Abigail Spanberger a terrible candidate,” Youngkin said, referring to the Democratic nominee.“We did a … tele-rally on Thursday night, and he was very, very positive on the lieutenant governor and her winning as governor,” Youngkin added, referring to a similar event from last week.
But when pressed again on why Earle-Sears wasn’t invited onto the call, he reiterated: “It was what Trump wanted.”
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