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As Glenn Youngkin took to the stage at a crowded resort ballroom within the early hours of Wednesday morning, the 1969 basic rock hit “Spirit within the Sky” blasted by the loudspeakers.
Sporting a navy blue swimsuit and purple tie, the Republicans’ man of the second greeted supporters and clapped in time with the music, pausing to level one finger to the heavens and mouth the lyrics: “ it’s a should, gotta have a good friend in Jesus”.
Minutes earlier, the Related Press had projected the 54-year-old political newcomer because the winner of Virginia’s hotly contested governor’s race. The previous co-chief govt of the personal fairness large Carlyle Group defeated veteran Democratic fundraiser Terry McAuliffe by a 2.5-point margin in a state Joe Biden had gained by greater than 10 factors a 12 months earlier.
The outcomes despatched shockwaves by the Democratic get together — and buoyed the spirits of Republicans who fretted about their get together’s future with Donald Trump out of the White Home. Youngkin had efficiently balanced a political tightrope to safe Trump’s base of rural conservative supporters whereas profitable over independents in prosperous suburbs exterior Washington, DC.
Main Republicans mentioned Youngkin, who campaigned on a platform of decrease taxes, extra money for legislation enforcement and an emphasis on mother or father involvement in public faculties, provided their get together a playbook for subsequent 12 months’s midterm elections, when management of Congress can be up for grabs. Conservative columnist Ross Douthat took the argument one step additional, tweeting: “I’ll simply say it: Glenn Youngkin ought to significantly contemplate operating for president in 2024.”
It was a precipitous political rise for a person who lower than 18 months earlier had left the highest job at Carlyle after dropping an influence wrestle along with his co-chief govt Kewsong Lee. The Republican donor had by no means earlier than run for public workplace having spent the primary three many years of his profession climbing the company ladder.
Youngkin grew up in Virginia Seashore, a resort metropolis that can also be house to a number of navy bases. Cultivating his everyman picture on the marketing campaign path, he talked about his first ever job as a dishwasher at an area diner. The avid basketball participant attended Rice College in Houston, Texas, on a sports activities scholarship, incomes a level in engineering. After his victory on Wednesday, Youngkin signed basketballs with a Sharpie earlier than tossing them into the gang.
Youngkin moved on to Harvard Enterprise College and joined consulting group McKinsey after commencement. He married his spouse, Suzanne, with whom he has 4 kids. In 1995, he was recruited to Carlyle by the agency’s co-founder, David Rubenstein, and spent the subsequent quarter-century charting its rise from start-up to powerhouse — amassing a web value of roughly $470m, based on Forbes.
He opened Carlyle’s London places of work within the early 2000s, serving to to launch many European-based funds earlier than returning to the US. After the 2008 monetary disaster, he shifted his focus to broader technique, changing into chief working officer and later co-president. In 2017, he was named co-chief govt alongside Lee who, insiders say, outmanoeuvred the mild-mannered Youngkin.
Former colleagues present combined opinions of their ex-boss. One described Youngkin as a talented operational skilled and a “nice particular person”. One other known as him the “poster youngster of the good American . . . however he’ll stab you within the again if he sees a bonus”.
Months after leaving Carlyle, in July 2020, Youngkin launched his bid for Virginia governor, utilizing his sizeable wealth to rent political consultants and produce a slick PR marketing campaign that depicted a down-to-earth dad preaching “widespread sense” conservatism. The one-time govt swapped his fits for fleece gilets and khaki trousers and clinched his get together’s nomination in Might.
The evangelical Christian, who colleagues say saved his non secular convictions intently guarded at work, started talking brazenly of his religion, sharing how his beliefs deepened whereas attending Holy Trinity Brompton in London. Youngkin and his spouse later arrange a parish modelled after HTB in McLean, Virginia, known as Holy Trinity Church.
His personal fairness background and nation club-style drew comparisons to Mitt Romney, who was an govt at Bain earlier than getting into Republican politics. However his opponent McAuliffe branded him “Donald Trump in khakis”, arguing Youngkin’s average persona hid extra hardline views.
The political novice usually stumbled as he sought to flee Trump’s shadow. In a single occasion, he declined to reply an interviewer’s query about whether or not he would have voted to certify the election had he been a member of Congress on January 6, when violent mobs of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol. Following backlash, Youngkin modified his tune, telling an area TV community he “completely” would have voted to certify.
Analysts say Youngkin’s hazy messaging labored to his benefit when cobbling collectively a coalition of voters to make him the primary Republican elected Virginia governor in additional than a decade. “Youngkin appears friendlier, nicer, extra regular. Who is aware of if he actually is?” says Larry Sabato of the College of Virginia Heart for Politics. “We all know nothing about him, actually. That’s what [his campaign] needed: tabula rasa. You write on that slate something you need.”
Further reporting by Kaye Wiggins and Antoine Gara
lauren.fedor@ft.com
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