Source: Global Times
U.S. Republican candidate Glenn Young King narrowly won the Virginia governoral election, making him the first Republican to win the state election in 12 years. For the Democratic Party led by US President Joe Biden, this is undoubtedly a heavy blow — you know, Biden also had the support of the state in last year's election. The relationship between Young King, 54, and former President Trump is delicate. Not only that, but like Trump, Yang Jin is also a billionaire and a political amateur, with no political experience, and was a former private equity executive.
The data picture shows Yangkin's campaign on November 1. Photo by Chen Mengtong, a reporter of China News Service
Political amateurs win unexpectedly
The Wall Street Journal said on the 4th that Yankin defeated McAuliffe, the candidate who is the backbone of the Democratic Party, on the 3rd and was elected as the new governor of Florida. He is the first Republican to win a statewide election in Virginia since 2009. In recent years, rapid development in Florida's suburbs, especially near Washington, has made the state more democratic. Therefore, the outside world has always believed that McAuliffe has a great chance of winning. But now that's the result. Some analysts believe that it is the political climate in Washington that drags McAuliffe down — although Biden easily won Florida in 2020, multiple polls show that his current support in the region has dropped to more than 40%.
This gubernatorial election in Virginia has great political significance. Vice President Harris publicly declared on an occasion to help McAuliffe stand, "What happens in Virginia will largely determine what will happen in the United States in 2022, 2024 and beyond." "Voice of America" said on the 3rd that the Florida election is not only a weather vane for the US midterm elections in November next year, but also a referendum on the governance of President Biden in the past year. What Biden did not expect was that the Veteran Democrat would eventually lose to a Republican politician who had never run for office.
Jankin worked for the private equity firm Carlyle Group before entering politics, where he later became CEO. He resigned from the Carlyle Group in September 2020 and announced his candidacy for Governor of Virginia in January 2021. According to a resume released when Yankin ran for governor, he was born in Virginia in 1966. His father was a Duke University basketball player and worked in finance and accounting after graduation. Jankin himself has a talent for basketball since childhood, playing for the varsity team in high school and winning multiple awards. He then won a basketball scholarship and entered Rice University, where he played for four seasons for the varsity team and earned a double bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and management. He then worked in investment banking, where he also earned an MBA from Harvard University. Jankin now lives in Florida with his wife, Suzanne, and her children. According to Forbes magazine in the United States, Yangkin currently has personal assets of about $440 million.
It is inseparable from Trump
On the 3rd, Trump attributed Yankin's victory to his loyal voter base. But Reuters said on the 4th that Yankin's victory shows that there is no Trump's intervention to win. Yankin showed how to distance himself from Trump without provoking him and succeed in winning.
Unlike Trump, Yankin is an all-out advocate for vaccines. On issues Trump likes, such as immigration, Young King avoids extreme rhetoric. Nor will he question the credibility of the U.S. electoral system as Trump does, because he fears it will affect turnout. Although Trump has supported Yankin many times, Yankin refused to completely side with Trump, so much so that Trump did not personally come to Virginia to campaign for him, but only "waved the flag" for him through video.
The secret to winning: commitment to solve people's livelihood problems
CNN said on the 4th that the secret of Yankin's victory is very simple, find the core issues that voters are concerned about, and then promise to solve them. Education, crime, the economy, reforming the government — all of which are important to Virginia voters, Yankin did what Trump failed to do in the 2020 election: build a platform to address those concerns.
"Together, we will change the trajectory of this federal state." Yankin said to cheering supporters at a hotel ballroom in the Washington town of Chantilly on the 3rd. The Wall Street Journal said on the 4th that Republican candidate Yankin became governor of Virginia, breaking the Democratic Party's advantage in the state for many years, and providing a model for the Republican Party's election strategy in highly competitive areas before next year's congressional midterm elections.
"Voice of America" reported on the 3rd that the results of the governor election in Virginia may let Republicans see how to adopt a posture of being in a position with Trump to win votes to the maximum, but it may also make Biden and Democrats realize that they must quickly step up their efforts in governance, quickly pass the social welfare expenditure and infrastructure construction bill in Congress, avoid political idling, and win back the hearts and minds of the people as soon as possible.