Virginia Republicans rage against ex-GOP governor: 'Missing in action' while eyeing 2028

Republicans in Virginia are turning on the state's former GOP governor, Glenn Youngkin, according to the Wall Street Journal, accusing him of being "missing in action" in the fight against the pro-Democrat gerrymander underway in the state and decrying his ambitions to run for president in 2028.

Youngkin served as the governor of Virginia from 2022 to 2026 and was succeeded in office this year by Democrat Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger rode a wave of growing anti-MAGA sentiment into office, one of the many Democrats to post major electoral victories in 2025 by running on affordability and opposition to Donald Trump's agenda. She has wasted little time since assuming the governorship, signing numerous executive orders and throwing her support behind major Democratic legislative initiatives, including a new redistricting effort to counteract GOP gerrymanders in other states.

It was in the battle to stop this redistricting push where Virginia Republicans say that Youngkin let them down. A group of GOP lawmakers from the state told WSJ in a report published Monday that they approached the outgoing governor in November and urged him to throw his support behind the fight in a big way. Now, they say his efforts fell well short, with Youngkin neglecting to take part in fundraising efforts and appearing in no anti-redistricting ads.

Rep. Rob Wittman, a Virginia Republican at risk of losing his seat in the new Democrat-backed district map, said that the former governor was "adamant to say he was not going to get involved" in the fight during that November meeting, causing immense frustrations.

"Glenn is just missing in action," Wittman said.

Another vulnerable Virginia Republican, Rep. Ben Cline, said that Youngkin was a major opponent of redistricting while in office, but "went quiet" as soon as he left. He retained hope that the former governor would return "as one of the strongest opponents of gerrymandering" in the state soon.

As the prominent former governor of a purple state, Youngkin has long been floated as a prime candidate for a future GOP presidential nomination, with reports indicating that he may be considering a run in 2028 to potentially succeed Trump in the White House. Wittman said that Youngkin's handling of the redistricting fight has left many in the GOP with a dim view of his nationwide ambitions.

"If you’re not going to fight for your own state, for your own party, that’s pretty poor testament to what you would do if the president were to select you for a position," Wittman said.

Youngkin's representatives and allies strongly contested these characterizations of his involvement with the fight. Wittman later said that his comments were made "in the heat of the moment," and that he and the governor are now on the "same page."

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