future election. Ridiculous sounding question because that should normally be un-answerable without more info (such as who is the opponent), but I am willing to bet a healthy number of voters found themselves able to vote for Youngkin who would absolutely never support Trump. I'm not suggesting this is suddenly the R party again in Virginia or anywhere - just that meaningful number reside in a space where they can still vote for a Republican but would never vote for Trump. Youngkin threaded the needle fairly well in this election -- finding ways not to alienate Trump supporters and hitting on some culture issues but saying enough to stand in a different spot. His history (of his own personal donations for example) also make him appear to be much closer to the traditional Republican middle vs. a Trump populist. I think a meaningful chunk of voters recognized this or at least were willing to take the chance. We will see how it plays out.
[Post edited by fishhoo at 11/03/2021 12:34AM]