VIRGINIA, USA — As Virginia Republicans prepare for life after the midterm elections, some members of the GOP are asking if it’s time for the party to take a different approach to its politics.
On Tuesday, Republicans did not win as many seats in the U.S. House and Senate as they had originally hoped.
After the party’s showing on Election Night, some Republicans said it was time for the GOP to distance itself from former President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Virginia Governor Lieutenant Winsome Sears, who is also a Republican, appeared on Fox Business with Neil Cavuto.
She said she was proud of the impact Trump made on the economy during his presidency, but she felt it was time for the Republican party to move on.
“I could not support him,” she said. “I just couldn't because we have seen, for example, in those states where he has endorsed the candidates, in fact, Republicans on the same ticket who he did not endorse overperformed whereas his candidates totally underperformed by as much as 10 points. We have a clear mission and it is time to move on.”
Sears also said a “true leader understands when they have become a liability” and that Trump should understand that it was time for him to step off the party’s center stage.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” Sears said. “And, indeed, that's where we are today. And, as I said before, America is the prize. Why do we want to win elections? It's because we've got to learn to love each other, live together, govern together, and the voters are saying enough is enough.”
On Friday, Trump posted to his social media site Truth Social. However, instead of taking aim at Sears for her comments, he mentioned Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
"I Endorsed him, did a very big Trump Rally for him telephonically, got MAGA to Vote for him - or he couldn’t have come close to winning," Trump wrote.
The former President then referred to Youngkin’s name sounding “Chinese”.
Reporters asked Youngkin about Trump’s comments just a few hours later.
The governor did not attack Trump, but mentioned he likes to go about things in a different way.
“I do not call people names,” he said. “I really work hard to bring people together and that’s what we’re working on.”
Youngkin went on to defend Sears.
“Lieutenant Governor Sears is a strong leader,” he said. “I deeply, deeply respect her. She is her own independent person and we work extraordinarily well together.”
Trump’s post about Youngkin ignited further division about his future role in the GOP on social media.
Virginia Delegate Tim Anderson, R-Virginia Beach and Norfolk, called Trump’s statement racist on his Facebook page and that he was sick of such rhetoric.
Anderson's full Facebook post:
"Being free of Trump - I am so thankful to be able to speak freely.1. Gov Youngkin won Virginia because Trump was not allowed to participate in the election and did not solicit an endorsement or use it in any way. A telephonic rally? Why? Because he was not allowed to come to Virginia because Youngkin knew Trump is toxic.2. I would have voted for Youngkin if he was Chinese. To imply Youngkin would not be electable because he would be Asian is racist.Republicans must denounce this racist comment. I’m sick of it."
The Republican delegate also defended Youngkin.
“Gov Youngkin won Virginia because Trump was not allowed to participate in the election and did not solicit an endorsement or use it in any way. A telephonic rally? Why? Because he was not allowed to come to Virginia because Youngkin knew Trump is toxic.”
Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase, R – Chesterfield and Amelia counties, later tweeted about Anderson calling him a “former ally and friend”.
Chase, who ran for Virginia Governor in 2020, said she thought Youngkin was doing a “great job” of trying to unify Virginia.
She added she’s always supported President Trump and has no plans to stop doing so now.
“I've never shied away from supporting President Trump,” Chase said. “I appreciate his policies. I feel like Virginia and the country economically did its best at that dawn, in decades.”
Chase defended Trump’s rhetoric too. She said he has a dry sense of humor.
“I'm all about results,” she said. “And, while people may not appreciate the rhetoric, you got to take the good with the bad.”
Chase said she believed the 2020 election was stolen from the former President and that the issue has also become a source of division for Republicans in the state and across the country.
However, she said Virginia Republicans need to move beyond that topic and criticizing Trump.
“President Trump has not announced he's running [for President],” she said. “We know that he's probably going to announce on the 14th. But, until that happens, [Sears] needs to keep her mouth shut until he actually announces and then she can say whatever she wants. But, I will say this, she's lost a lot of support over the last couple of days because many Virginians support President Trump.”
Stephen Kurtz, a Virginia Republican from Warren County, serves as the Virginia 6th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative for the Republican Party of Virginia.
Kurtz said it’s possible there will be a lot of infighting in the Republican party moving forward. However, he’s not sure if Youngkin will be apart of it. He thinks the conversation will likely involve Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis instead.
“They're both viable candidates,” Kurtz said. “They have the possibility to win. That's the first thing I look at in a candidate. They might be the greatest candidate in the world, but if they can't win, there's no use in supporting somebody that's not going to get you the results that you want.”
Kurtz, who likes DeSantis as well, said he believed Trump’s possible candidacy for 2024 took a hit following the Florida governor’s election night performance.
DeSantis handily beat former Florida Governor Charlie Crist for the seat in Tallahassee Tuesday night.
“And maybe [Trump] was feeling that and that's why all these things are starting to pop up,” Kurtz said.
Kurtz added that he hopes the party can coalesce and survive with multiple popular figures and ideas. He said he wants it to feel like former President Ronald Reagan’s type of party.
Still, Kurtz does not believe this is as big of an issue on the local level as it may be on either the state or national levels.
“We have a saying that all politics is local,” he said. “And, I believe that politics start at the bottom and work there way to the top.”