Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expanding his network with plans to campaign for his fellow Republicans in this year’s midterm elections.
Kristin Davison, senior adviser for Youngkin’s political activity, confirmed to The Hill on Thursday that the governor launched two organizations to support his work in politics that can accept contributions. There is no maximum donation size.
One of the groups is a 527 political action committee dubbed Spirit of Virginia, and the other is America’s Spirit, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. The latter will be required to disclose who is contributing funds, and there are some regulations regarding how the money is used.
Davison told Politico, which first reported on Youngkin’s plans for campaigning, that the two new organizations will expand on the themes Youngkin spoke about during his own campaign for the governor.
“Looking to 2022, Gov. Youngkin will continue to grow that movement and help other candidates win, especially those that will turn blue states red, just as he did in Virginia last year,” Davison said.
Spirit of Virginia has already started running advertisements, one of which focuses on passing a budget that “helps all Virginians.” The video specifically advocates for eliminating the grocery tax, cutting taxes for veterans and returning a tax surplus to Richmond lawmakers.
Youngkin won Virginia’s gubernatorial race in November, besting former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) to become the first Republican to win a statewide election in the commonwealth since 2009.
He sought to campaign in a way that walked a fine line regarding former President Trump — he said he was “honored” to be endorsed by the ex-president, but the two did not appear together on the trail.
His campaign focused largely on issues of education, especially parents’ influence over school boards, which some Republicans are looking to embrace going forward.
Thirty-six states will head to the polls this year to elect a new governor, though it remains unclear which contests Youngkin is going to campaign in.
Youngkin, who before winning the governorship was the CEO of a private equity firm, will only serve one term as chief of the Old Dominion because of the commonwealth’s constitution.
Asked during an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week if he has political ambitions greater than the governorship, Youngkin said “I’ve got a new job in Virginia and I’m extremely excited to be doing it,” according to WMAL.
Julia Manchester contributed to this report.