Bill Kristol, Other Republicans Endorse McAuliffe For VA Governor

VIRGINIA — Several Virginia Republicans endorsed Terry McAuliffe's campaign for a second term as governor on Tuesday, with many of them citing the Democratic nominee's stance on public health and the economy as their reasons for supporting him.

Bill Kristol, a Republican who served in President Ronald Reagan’s administration in the 1980s, was among the most prominent Republicans to endorse McAuliffe. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Kristol became a “never Trump” Republican. Four years later, Kristol supported Joe Biden's campaign against President Donald Trump.

In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for governor, has been endorsed by Trump and has adopted many of Trump’s policy positions on COVID-19. He left his position as co-CEO of the Carlyle Group last September, with a net worth of about $500 million, to run for governor.

Kristol, who also served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle in the George H.W. Bush administration, said in a statement Tuesday “we need a governor who takes public health seriously and keeps our economy strong.”

“I'm confident Terry McAuliffe will do both," said Kristol. "I have no such confidence in the Republican nominee."

Kristol, who has lived in Fairfax County since he served in the Reagan administration, said he cares strongly about the future of the state because most of his children and grandchildren also live in Virginia.

In recent weeks, as the COVID-19 pandemic has re-intensified in Virginia and across the nation, the McAuliffe campaign has taken a strong stance on vaccinations.

McAuliffe, who served his first term of governor from 2014 to 2018, is requiring his campaign staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and has called on all Virginia employers, including health care systems and school divisions, to require full vaccination of their employees. He also has called on colleges and universities across the state to require students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated.

On the campaign trail, Youngkin is encouraging Virginians to get the COVID-19 vaccine but opposes vaccine mandates for state employees, health care workers and educators.

“I respect individual liberty here,” he said in a recent radio interview about vaccinations and mask-wearing in schools. “This should be an individual decision.”

Among the other Republicans to endorse McAuliffe is David Ramadan, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Loudoun County.

“Terry is a committed public servant who always puts what is right for Virginia and our economy first, and he's shown that again with his leadership on COVID-19 and vaccines,” Ramadan said in a statement Tuesday. “Glenn Youngkin's dangerous approach to COVID-19 and vaccines will harm our economy and drag Virginia back.”

“Virginians need someone with the experience, leadership, and fortitude to govern on day one and work in a bipartisan manner to get things done, not someone who will bring Donald Trump's brand of divisiveness, chaos, confusion, and failed leadership to the Commonwealth,” Ramadan added.

The other Republicans to endorse McAuliffe include:

• Russ Potts, former state senator (1992-2008) from Winchester
• Marty Williams, former state senator (1996-2008) from Richmond
• Jim Dillard, former delegate (1972-1978, 1980-2005) from Fairfax County
• Clint Miller, former delegate (1972-1996) from Rockingham County
• Katherine Waddell, former delegate (2006-2008) from Richmond
• Dwight Schar, former finance chairman for the Republican National Committee
• Buddy Maxey, former sheriff of Campbell County
• Matt Walton, former Republican delegate candidate, from Henrico County
• Judy Ford Wason, leader of “Virginians for Bob McDonnell” (2009) who lives in Williamsburg, served in President Ronald Reagan’s administration and adviser to Sen. John Warner
• Sophia Nelson, former Republican counsel for the U.S. House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, from Loudoun County
• Rina Shah, former Republican aide to Republican congressman Scott Garrett and Jeff Miller, from Reston
• D.J. McGuire, former Republican Board of Supervisors candidate in Spotsylvania and Suffolk
• Michael Anderson, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Don Young, from Stafford County
• René Anderson, Air Force veteran, 2016 Trump voter, from Stafford County
• Mark Coombs, former Alexandria Republican Party Vice Chair, from Alexandria City

In a statement, Maxey, the former sheriff of Campbell County near Lynchburg, said he supports how McAuliffe plans to address COVID-19 if elected governor.

McAuliffe is "putting what is right for Virginia, our people, and our future first," Maxey said. "Meanwhile, Glenn Youngkin has bragged he would model his governorship off of failed Trumpian leaders who are letting this virus ravage their states and their communities."

Kristol told The Washington Post he believes in less government intervention in the economy than McAuliffe, who touts his business-friendly polices during his first term as governor.

But Kristol also told the Post he is more wary of Youngkin’s stated interest in eliminating the state’s personal income tax, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the general-fund revenue the General Assembly and governor control.

"Mr. Youngkin seems unwilling to take on the most extreme wing of his own party on vaccinations, and he's embraced reckless fiscal policies that have failed elsewhere," Kristol said in a statement.

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