Former Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin recently claimed that the Democratic Party is sliding further to the left, and that there are no “moderate candidates left.” These remarks enraged Virginia voters, as many believed that the truth could not be further from what the former Republican governor claimed.
As reported by The Western Journal, Youngkin claimed that his opponent’s party has been moving increasingly toward socialism following a series of progressive candidates winning Democratic primaries. He highlighted Abdul El-Sayed’s win against Haley Stevens in Michigan as an example of this.
According to Youngkin, the Democratic Party is currently “battling for its very soul,” and the socialists are allegedly winning. He also called on independents and moderate Democrats to fight this trend.
Youngkin also cited the current Virginia governor, Abigail Spanberger, as an example of a politician who was elected as a moderate and turned to the left, concluding that there’s no such thing as a moderate Democrat anymore.
Virginia Reacts to Former Governor’s Claims
Youngkin’s claims seemingly enraged some Virginia residents on Reddit’s r/Virginia, who considered his remarks to be entirely wrong: “It’s funny because the literal opposite happened in VA, moderates swept the primaries.”
One person noted: “Where did socialists “sweep” primaries? The DSA candidates lose far more races than they win. They also don’t have the greatest margin of victory, even in the deepest blue districts in America.” Another user added: “Political rhetoric with no basis in reality. One could easily (and likely more accurately) say the same about Republicans.”
Something that seemed to really irritate some users was Youngkin considering Spanberger to be on the left, something that some Virginians greatly disagree with: “They’ve been saying this for decades. If Spanberger and Biden don’t count as moderates, I don’t know who does. Show me one moderate Republican in Virginia elected office.”
Some folks did agree with the former governor, however: “The moderates are almost completely gone from both sides. Think back 30 years ago. Could anyone in either party from the 1990s get elected today?”
It remains to be seen how moderate Democrats will do in the upcoming elections, and time will tell whether Youngkin could be correct.
