Richmond, VA – Today, DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker, Senator Ghazala Hashmi, and Delegate Rip Sullivan held a virtual press conference on Governor Youngkin’s underwater approval rating, Attorney General Jason Miyares’s attempts to subvert democracy, and Republican efforts to defund public education in their budget.
“Virginians not only disapprove of Youngkin’s governorship, but they strongly disapprove of the far-right agenda he’s put forward,” said Del. Sullivan. “The bottom line is, Virginians are sending a message loud and clear to the Governor—they do not agree with his far-right agenda and they do not like the direction he is taking our commonwealth. Governor Youngkin is making history – but not the kind Virginians want or need.”
“The fact is, Governor Youngkin and his Republican colleagues are out of touch with Virginians. Our Governor talks about being an education Governor, but his proposals show otherwise,” said Sen. Hashmi. “The Democratic Party is the party of education, plain and simple. We’re the ones that are putting legislation and financial support forward to protect our public schools and make sure that every Virginia student has the opportunity for a world-class education. It is time for Governor Youngkin and his Republican colleagues to wake up and listen to Virginians who are resoundingly asking for more investments in education, and all underfunded government services, not less.”
“Just about one month in and what are Virginians seeing? We’re seeing an out-of-touch Governor attempting to run the Commonwealth with a non-existent conservative mandate,” said DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker. “The Governor and his far-right allies need to wake up. This isn’t Texas, this is Virginia and we do things differently here. We Virginians see through the Governor’s moderate demeanor for what he really is, an extreme far-right Governor.”
With only a month serving as Governor, Youngkin is the first Virginia Governor to have a poll with a majority of disapproval rating in his first year in office. This comes after his Attorney General Jason Miyares hosted meetings with Senator Amanda Chase, who proposed a budget amendment to spend $70 million to audit the 2020 election and explore baseless claims of election fraud.
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