Friday, March 29, 2024

Why Virginia Republicans Will Lose in November.

September 29, 2021 by  
Filed under News, Opinion, Politics, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) My good buddy, Winston Churchill once told me, “To every man there comes a time in his life when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a great and mighty work, unique to him and fitted to his talents; what a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the moment that could be his finest hour.”

Churchill was British Prime Minister during World War II.  He was considered by many to be one of the greatest diplomats of the 20th century.

I was reminded of this Churchill quote when a friend asked me about Glen Youngkin’s campaign for governor of Virginia.  The election is on November 2 of this year.

In many ways, I think Youngkin has been tapped on the shoulder in the Churchillian sense, and unfortunately on November 2nd, he will be found both unprepared and unqualified for the moment that could have been his finest hour!!!

One need look no further than last year’s presidential election in Virginia for why Youngkin will lose.

Trump kicked butt in most of the state and lost it all in Northern Virginia.  Biden won with 54.11% of the vote to Trump’s 44%.

Trump won the southern and rural parts of the state and Biden decimated Trump in liberal bastions like the Northern Virginia areas of Arlington County (80.6%), Fairfax County (69.9%), Loudoun County (61.5%), Prince Williams County (62.6%).

What do all these counties have in common?  They have more minority populations than any other part of the state.  This is where most of the successful Black and other minority entrepreneurs live.  These are firms that are generating multiple millions of dollars of revenue annually and employ hundreds, if not thousands, of employees each.

RepublicanPartyofVirginia

Republicans haven’t won a statewide election in Virginia since 2009 because they continue to ignore the Black vote specifically and the minority vote in general, especially in Northern Virginia.

I met with Youngkin and several of his senior aides back in June.  I shared my thoughts with them on how to effectively and substantively engage with the Black community.

Youngkin looked me in the eye and said, “I want you on my team!”

There was absolutely no follow up.  But I am used to this from Republicans, so I simply moved on with my life.

For those who may not know my background, I am a graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in accounting and have a master’s in international business from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.  I am the first Black in the history of Virginia to be elected National Committeeman of the Young Republicans.

I have worked political campaigns from local, state, and federal offices all across the country, and international campaigns around the world.

In my business life, I have worked with some of the biggest names in sports, business, politics, and entertainment; doing everything from crisis management, to writing speeches, to ghost writing editorials.

Enough said!!!

Last month I was asked by a major donor to talk with a senior aide to Youngkin.  This donor was aware of my previous interaction with the Youngkin campaign and was not happy.  I agreed to speak with this Youngkin aide.

This 50-year-old aide was born and raised in rural America.  We had an hour-long conversation and it did not end well.  After I discussed with him what I thought the campaign needed to do to get substantive support from the Black community; he responded that he agreed with 15% of what I said and that he knew more about Black folks than I did.

I was floored by this white boy’s arrogance; but, unfortunately, this was not the first time I have had this type of experience.

The Golden Age of substantive engagement with the Black community in Virginia politics was the early 1990s and ended as we ushered in a new century in 2000.

This Golden Age was led by people like George Allen, Jim Gilmore, Mark Earley, John Hager, former Congressman Tom Davis, former State Senator Jeannemarie Devolites, etc.  You had private sector businessmen like Earle Williams, Gil Davis, Bobbie & Bill Kilberg who saw the value and necessity of investing in engaging with Black entrepreneurs; and it worked.

George Allen became our governor in 1993 and later was elected to the U.S. Senate.  Jim Gilmore became our governor in 1997 and later became chairman of the Republican National Committee.  Mark Earley was elected as our attorney general in 1997.  John Hager became our Lt. Governor in 1997.

In 1993, Allen was elected governor and Gilmore was elected attorney general.  They both had “real” Black Republicans on their campaign staffs, as consultants, and in their administration.  We won two of the three statewide offices.

In 1997, we swept all three statewide offices—governor, lt. governor, and attorney general.  I, along with other Blacks, had all of their private numbers and were told to call them personally if we needed to speak with them.

It was not unusual for them to call just to say hi.  They would say to drop by and see them next time we were in Richmond.

During the campaign and once in office they constantly showed up at major Black events; even when they knew it would not be a welcoming crowd.  They had “real” Blacks throughout their administration.

The first Black governor of Virginia, Doug Wilder even tacitly supported the Republican ticket during these two cycles.

How do I know that the effort to substantively engage with the Black community paid off?  Black support for these candidates were in the high teens and low twenties!

Any Republican that gets these numbers in the Black community is guaranteed to win statewide.

Blacks are nearly 20% of the vote in Virginia and more than 20% describe themselves as Independent or with no party affiliation.  This was according to a Virginia State University poll done last year.

Youngkin had a great opportunity with his campaign to return the Republican Party of Virginia back to the 21st century version of the Golden Age.  But, because they are more interested in staffing their campaign with Blacks who make them “feel good” and those that make them feel “comfortable” versus Blacks who know what the hell they are doing; they are about to experience the agony of defeat yet again.

There has been absolutely no substantive engagement with Black entrepreneurs; no engagement with Black women on the issue of school choice and vouchers; no engagement with people like Courtney Malveaux, Ashley Taylor, or Patricia Funderburke Ware.  If you don’t know who these people are, then you have just proved my point!

You have a Democrat Party in Virginia who has a sitting governor and attorney general who admitted to wearing Blackface as adults, not as young, dumb teenagers; and our stupid party is not able to make an issue of this because we have absolutely no standing with the Black community.

What a tragedy that on November 2nd, Glen Youngkin and his campaign for governor will be found unprepared and unqualified for the moment that could have been his and Virginia’s finest hour.

Staff Writer; Raynard Jackson

This talented brother is a Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter; Raynard1223.


Comments

2 Responses to “Why Virginia Republicans Will Lose in November.”
  1. Like almost all conservatives, you only like people who agree with what you have to say. Trump is just the logical extension of this. As more and more mostly young people become aware of this, you will loose even more voters. If you have any left after 2024

    Also few blacks like being “house Negros” for republicans

  2. Sid Dinerstein says:

    Raynard: when I was Republican County Chairman a board member taught me a great political truth: There are two kinds of black Republicans; one kind that has mostly white friends and the kind that has mostly black friends. I made the switch snd literally flipped tens of thousands of black votes from D to R.

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