Shaun Kenney, the senior editor for Virginia-based news outlet The Republican Standard, said Virginia “most certainly” is in play for the 2024 presidential election in November, given President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month and Democrats’ reluctance to address Biden’s apparent decline.
Real Clear Politics’ 2024 RCP Electoral College Map lists Virginia as a toss up state for this year’s election despite Democrats’ wins in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections against former President Donald Trump.
Virginia has 13 electoral votes.
Last month, during a 90-minute televised debate hosted by CNN, Biden appeared absent-minded and confused, stumbling over his words and losing his train of thought multiple times.
Since his performance, the national news cycle has been dominated by pundits and Democratic leaders questioning Biden’s abilities to finish out his term as president and another four-year term amid his apparent decline.
However, it appears Biden is adamant about staying in the race to serve another four years.
To this, Kenney said Virginians are “sick and tired” of the Democratic Party rallying around Biden, who Kenney noted may be “in late stage dementia or at least very serious medical conditions that are inhibiting his ability to perform his duties in office.”
“I think Virginians, overall, are a little bit sick and tired of being scolded by the defenders of so-called ‘our democracy’ when in fact they are absolutely unwilling to allow those processes to work, to replace a man who, arguably, is in late stage dementia or at least very serious medical conditions that are inhibiting his ability to perform his duties in office,” Kenney said on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“Virginians are pretty savvy about political outlets. There’s a lot of swing on the gate. Virginia most certainly is in play, but I think what you’re seeing are some of the very same dynamics that you saw in 2021 where the Biden administration after Afghanistan made some terrible mistakes. The electorate’s in a mood to punish, there’s no question,” Kenney added.
Noting how Virginia has experienced a “great deal of growth” over the last two decades, Kenney explained how Virginians appreciate the state’s low taxes, strong school systems, and business climate – all of which thrived under a Trump presidency.
“Virginia has experienced a great deal of growth over the last two decades as people have moved down from New York and New Jersey and they have brought their politics. Yet, like in saying that the reason why most folks come down to Virginia and buy a home and start a life for themselves and their families isn’t because they want to import socialism from the Northeast, it’s because they appreciate the low taxes, they appreciate the business climate, they appreciate the education system and the strength of our colleges and universities. So the type of individual that comes down here may bring some of those Northeastern tendencies, but at the end of the day, they like Virginia because it is Virginia,” Kenney explained.
“You marry that to the rest of Virginia and the western part of the state and their values. We’ve always appreciated our low taxes. We’ve always appreciated our business climate. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to win elections in Virginia. Unfortunately, for the Democrats, they take all that and they do the exact opposite. You’ve seen it time and time again. Whenever the Democrats finally get power in Virginia, they just can’t help themselves and there was a backlash from the electorates when you compound that with back-to-back 10 percent inflation, you compound it with the fact that it’s harder to make a living in Virginia now than at any other time in recent memory. When you compound it with interest rates, when you compound it with a terrible economy. Look, it’s not just Virginia. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, every battleground state in the United States understands what a first term Trump presidency was, understands what a first term Biden presidency is, and they’re not going to be scared off with the fear mongering,” Kenney continued.
“The fact of the matter is my gas prices were cheaper, my food prices were cheaper, I was being paid handsomely in the economies working under Trump. It’s not working under Biden. Again, people are in a mood to punish,” Kenney added.
Kenney went on to predict a Trump victory in Virginia if the November 5 election were held today.
“If the election were held today, Trump most likely wins Virginia,” Kenney said.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “President Joe Biden” by President Joe Biden.
