Topline
Former President Donald Trump on Monday sowed doubts about Virginia’s gubernatorial election – the latest move in a wide-reaching campaign by the ex-president to undermine public trust in elections.
Key Facts
Trump put out a statement through his political action committee, Save America PAC, urging supporters to “watch the ‘vote counters’ in Virginia,” echoing his unfounded attacks against the election workers that oversaw his 2020 election loss.
Trump commended Youngkin, a former private equity CEO who he endorsed in May, as a “great candidate” who has a “very good chance of winning” but suggested the election workers “can be far more important than the candidate.”
The statement comes hours after the Youngkin campaign released an ad attempting to tie McAuliffe to Trump, citing a $25,000 campaign donation Trump made to McAuliffe in 2009 and videos of them toasting each other and embracing in 2017.
As he seeks new elections to question, Trump also continues to loudly decry his own loss, putting out another statement on Monday calling to primary state lawmakers in Michigan who refuse to probe his fraud claims.
Key Background
Trump has repeatedly praised Youngkin since he won the Republican nomination in May. In May he gave Youngkin his “Complete and Total Endorsement,” and on Friday he put out a lengthy statement lauding Youngkin as a “very successful businessman” and a “highly respected person.”
Chief Critic
“Donald Trump, a failed and unpopular one-term President, just can’t accept the fact that the people of Virginia rejected him TWICE. So he’s back to his 2020 election LIES,” Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe, the state’s former governor tweeted. McAuliffe, who has made hay of Trump’s vocal support for Youngkin in a state that voted for President Joe Biden by 10 points in November, asked if Trump is “brave enough” to campaign for Youngkin.
