Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin joined Oregon’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan on the campaign trail this week. If anyone could understand the Republican support in a largely blue state it would be Youngkin who stumped for Drazan amid increasing support for her in the close race.
Christine Drazan took the lead in several recent polls. FiveThirtyEight’s polling average gives the republican a nearly three-point lead over Democratic candidate and former speaker of the Oregon House Tina Kotek.
“Nobody thought that a Republican governor candidate could win in Virginia, sound familiar Oregon? And we stood up last year and it’s your turn to stand up now,” Youngkin told supporters at a Tuesday rally.
The Virginia Republican was the first Republican to win statewide office in Virginia since 2009. Drazan will be the first Republican governor of Oregon since 1987 if she wins.
Youngkin gained the support of parents in Virginia. This. was largely due to their frustration regarding education. To the people of Oregon, Drazan has pointed out how COVID lockdowns harmed their students. She also discussed the issue of homelessness at a rally on Tuesday. Crime and the homeless population is another key concern for voters in the PNW state.
“Immediately on day one, issue a homelessness emergency that will give me as governor the opportunity, and frankly the power, to be able to align all of the various entities out there, state and local governments, to ensure we look at our 14,000 unhoused folks on our streets and we don’t see them as one big number, but see them as individuals and we help progress them from houselessness to supportive services, houses, stability and the dignity of work,” Drazan said.
Drazan’s race is getting national attention as she continues to gain ground with voters. Although many democrats are trying to separate themselves from the president, Joe Biden visited Oregon last weekend, throwing his support behind Kotek and discussing the Inflation Reduction Act.
“You’ve got the Kotek-Biden agenda at work in Oregon, and you can’t do anything but shake your head,” Youngkin said. “They are agents of chaos. Everything they do makes it worse. … It’s your moment to take back your state, take back your schools, to take back your cities, take back your law enforcement, and to make a statement that just like in Virginia, it will be heard around the world.”
