Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is making the case to President-elect Donald Trump's incoming staffers to move to the state he leads, calling them to reject blue neighbors like the District of Columbia and Maryland.
The Republican governor released a video on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, trying to persuade new GOP newcomers to move to northern Virginia, saying the commonwealth has better schools than its neighbors, a nod at his 2021 upset win against former Gov. Terence McAuliffe who faced several school-related controversies.
"To the new members of President Trump's administration moving to the area, I want to personally invite you to make Virginia your home," the Governor said.
"Virginia is right across the Potomac. We offer a great quality of life, safe communities, award-winning schools where parents matter, and lower taxes than D.C. or Maryland."
The video also cited a July CNBC report calling the state's public education system the "best in the country," along with it being the best state for business.
Another top focus of the video, crime, has also made national headlines and has been a major concern for lawmakers in Washington, with figures spiking in 2023, according to The Washington Examiner.
Two lawmakers and one former Trump administration official have been victims of violent crime in Washington over the past two years.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was physically assaulted inside an elevator as she was leaving her apartment building in February 2023, and Rep. Henry Cuellar (R-TX) was carjacked at gunpoint in Washington, D.C., in October 2023. Likewise, Mike Gil, who served as chief of staff for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the first Trump administration, was shot while being carjacked in downtown Washington and ultimately died of his injuries from the incident.
GOP insiders already favor Virginia neighborhoods like Old Town Alexandria, home to Paul Manafort, a longtime Republican consultant and 2016 Trump campaign chairman who has been accused of various financial crimes including tax evasion, bank fraud and money laundering. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, by comparison, lives in the otherwise liberal enclave of Del Ray, Virginia.
Trump took just 20% of the vote in Arlington, 24% in Alexandria and 31% in Fairfax County. However, that is considerably higher than the 7% he received in D.C., Axios recalled. As for the Maryland suburbs, Trump won 22% in Montgomery County and 11% in Prince George's County.
Virginia is the most Republican territory of the three jurisdictions in the immediate Washington, D.C. area. The Old Dominion's governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are all Republicans, with Democrats holding narrow majorities of 21-19 and 51-49 in both chambers of the state legislature.
All three jurisdictions— D.C., Maryland and Virginia— voted for Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump in the general election, but the President-elect lost Virginia by a relatively narrow 5.8%, compared to a 28.5% loss in Maryland and an 85.7% loss in Washington, D.C.
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