See below for my EXCLUSIVE DETAILS on Glenn Youngkin’s secret convening.**** Become a paying subscriber to support this 7-day-a-week newsletter now.
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Thanks! Mark **** Last Thursday night and Friday morning in the Charlottesville area, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Old Dominion’s First Lady, Suzanne, hosted about 80 leading stakeholders of the Republican Party for several well-orchestrated sessions that combined politics, policy, and a personal look at two of the top emerging figures of the GOP. If Youngkin ends up running for president in 2024, these private meetings will be part of the history of how a man who has only been involved in electoral politics for a couple of years has risen to the top of the wish list of many of the party’s smartest operatives, donors, and heavyweights. The names of those present remain a secret, but they would be recognized by any of the finance directors for those Republicans who ran for president in 2016. While the existence of this event has been reported by the Washington Post, Fox News, and other outlets, this is the most detailed account published yet about what happened. The group gathered for dinner at Castle Hill, a property that was once the home of Thomas Jefferson. Donald Trump’s trade representative, Bob Lighthizer, spoke in colloquy with Youngkin, as folks sat around about a dozen tables under a tent, facing the men. For maximum schmoozing, an empty chair was left at each table, so the governor could circulate around and speak to all the guests. On the dinner menu: a pumpkin soup with squash, pepitas, crispy sage, and pomegranate (poured tableside, of course); roasted venison with sauce poivrade/parsnip puree; wild Chesapeake rockfish and blue crab, with lemon beurre blanc, pickled walnuts, black eyed peas, and hominy. The wine pairings for those keeping track: a 2021 Southwest Mountains Vineyards Viognier and a 2021 Southwest Mountains Vineyards Cabernet Franc. If you are in Youngkin World, 2021 is considered a very good year, for obvious reasons. After a spectacular Virginia sunset, the group moved to the other side of the residence, where top Youngkin strategist Jeff Roe engaged in a fireside chat with the potential 2024 hopeful about the broad themes that animated the victory over Terry McAuliffe last year. They also talked a bit about the man’s daily routine, including regularly waking up before dawn to read the Bible and shoot off texts to his team. The outdoor setting for this event included blankets, individual little mini bonfires, and s’mores kits for every guest seating area. After that, Youngkin then showed up in the hotel bar to spend time with the twenty or so attendees interested in a nightcap. The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Youngkin led a a 30-minute prayer service on the grounds outside the hotel. Then top strategist Kristin Davison and pollster Amanda Iovino ran through an analytics presentation digging down deeper on how Youngkin as a first-time candidate was able to beat out one of the Democratic Party’s most towering figures. During this session, Youngkin pointed out he was ahead in the race before McAuliffe’s famous gaffe on schools and the role of parents, suggesting that education was not the only issue that powered his victory. Still, Suzanne Youngkin and her husband then led a session specifically on education, with many of the attendees impressed by her presentation skills and substantive knowledge of the issue. Over lunch at another nearby house, featured speaker Newt Gingrich gave a version of his usual spirited talk in conversation with Roe, combining a discussion of current events with a review of his own career and some classic Ronald Reagan stories. While Youngkin and his team stayed away from talking about 2024 over the two days, Gingrich went there, saying that if Trump runs again, he will be very hard to beat for the nomination. However, the former speaker continued, if Trump takes a pass on trying for a return to the White House, the Republican nomination fight would effectively be a two-person contest between Youngkin and Ron DeSantis, with the rest of the potential field far behind by most every metric. On the lunch menu: Cornish hen. With folks checking their phones to track the looming storm, few lingered after Gingrich concluded, heading straight to cars and airports to avoid the inclement weather. Still, the consensus of the group was more clear than the skies: Youngkin is one impressive guy, who many saw after this weekend as a welcome alternative to Trump and, in many ways, to DeSantis. To be continued…. **** For most of us mere mortals, two scenarios defy full understanding when it comes to dynamics, contours, and cadence: 1. What happens if DeSantis and/or Youngkin challenge Trump for the nomination? 2. What happens in a 2024 Trumpless field? To borrow the famous line OF Newt Gingrich, which he said ABOUT Virginia’s own Ed Gillespie about twelve million years ago (in a taped conversation on Dec. 21, 1996 between Gingrich, Rep. Bill Paxon, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Dan Meyer, Gingrich's chief of staff, attorney Ed Bethune, and Gillespie, who was then communications director for the Republican National Committee): Newt’s very clever. My reporting and analysis matches the former speaker’s: If Trump runs, he will be very tough to beat for the nomination. But, if he doesn’t, Youngkin and DeSantis make up a clearly defined first tier. Now, the Ted Cruzs, Mike Pences, Mike Pompeos, Nikki Haleys, Tom Cottons, Chris Christies, and many more would have something to say about that, seeing in that pair of sitting governors not inevitability but a couple of big fat glass jaws. And we would see if they were right. But if you look at fundraising mojo, the ability to drive a message, the courtship of top staff and support in the early voting states, and, in short, the capacity to simultaneously build the sufficiently sized aircraft carrier to pull off a nomination victory and define the Republican Party in the post-Trump era, there is a reason that Gingrich said what he said. In the broadest (or, perhaps, crudest is a better word here) terms, DeSantis would more clearly represent a continuation of Trump-style politics than would Yougkin. But a lot of their battle would be decided by two mainstays of presidential politics: likability and electability. And who told the better origin story; Youngkin would surely use all of that Old Dominion fabled past to weave together a narrative, melding together America’s history and his own. Whether Trump runs or not, we all need to take a healthy swig from a bottle of that 2021 Southwest Mountains Vineyards Viognier: It is going to be a full-on wild ride for the next 25 months. And I will be here to chronicle it with you. **** Between now and the midterms, Mark Halperin is available to speak to your group, company, or meeting in person or virtually about politics, media, government, or whatever else you would like.
Interested in finding out more about topics, rates, and availability? Send an email to markhalperintalk@gmail.com to inquire. **** ESSENTIAL READING1. You can still bet on Herschel Walker to win the Georgia Senate race over incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock, but, if you do, you should demand some pretty favorable odds. The original Daily Beast story alleging Walker paid for a woman to have an abortion after urging her to have the procedure is here. Here is the Twitter exchange between Walker’s son and the ex-football star:     And, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution adds this kicker:
2. The New York Times points out that a bevy of federal and state races could spell trouble for the Democrats in Nevada. 3. The Times’ nuke team goes deep on Putin’s tactical arsenal, which could potentially turn out to be more important than a couple of Senate contests.
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