In the aftermath of this month’s Virginia election, countless politicians and pundits have written their post-mortems, offering explanations as to how Glenn Youngkin was able to swing Virginia 12 points rightward and win the governorship.
Explanations have differed. According to the usual suspects on the left, Youngkin was propelled to victory by an army of racists — secret and overt — in DC’s suburbs. Washington-based policy wonks insist voters were concerned about the minutiae of the reconciliation process in Congress. Meanwhile, academics claim this was just a normal example of thermostatic reaction after a new party gains the White House.
But for a certain type of establishment politico on the right, Youngkin’s victory was a vindication of their preferred Republican politics of old — centered on cutting red tape and lowering tax rates, while steering clear of “divisive” cultural issues. Take, for example, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s analysis in the Wall Street Journal, which began with an obligatory Reagan namecheck before moving on to explain that Youngkin won by being like, well, Larry Hogan.
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