Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, at Iowa GOP event, says caucuses start the presidential nominating process with ‘incredibly informed voters’

DES MOINES — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin shared how Republicans won in a blue state in 2021 and drew policy comparisons between his state and Iowa during an annual Iowa GOP fundraiser Thursday evening.

As the headlining speaker of the Lincoln Dinner, Youngkin told a crowd of more than 200 people in a downtown Des Moines event center ballroom how he became Virginia’s first statewide-elected Republican in 12 years and how Republicans can gain more ground in traditionally blue states.

Youngkin flipped Virginia’s gubernatorial seat in 2021 when he beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Before then, he had never run for public office and served as the co-CEO of investment firm Carlyle Group.

“Every year for 12 years, we've been in the desert … they (Democrats) tried to take Virginia and turn her into California as fast as you can imagine,” Youngkin said.

Youngkin is one of many Republican lawmakers from across the country who have made a visit to Iowa this year as discussions around the 2028 Republican caucuses begin to pick up.

His visit came less than a week after Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke at the annual Family Leadership Summit, hosted by the evangelical, conservative group The Family Leader.

Multiple Republican presidential candidates have headlined the Lincoln Dinner in the past in hopes of laying campaign groundwork in Iowa ahead of the caucuses. In 2023, 13 Republicans spoke at the event, including then-former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Asked by Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann during a “fireside chat” what he thinks of Iowa having the first say in picking presidential candidates, Youngkin said caucuses allow for different outcomes compared to primaries.

“The beginning of the nomination process starts with incredibly informed voters,” Youngkin said. “You see the difference in the way that the caucus system works and the way a normal primary works. You all know this is … a moment to fully understand issues, candidates and what the candidates can do. And so often, primaries are a day when someone shows up and just pulls on a lever because a friend whispered in their ear ‘vote for them.’”

Youngkin added that the Democratic Party made a “massive mistake in abandoning Iowa as their first stop,” when the state lost its first-in-the-nation status for holding presidential caucuses in 2024.

After the event, Kaufmann told reporters he doesn’t know whether Youngkin is planning a presidential run, but said he welcomes visits from potential candidates looking to get to know the state ahead of 2028.

“That's the overriding message for me, just another step showing the rest of the country that we know how to do things. We know how to let these candidates start for themselves, and we know how to start out this whole process,” Kaufmann told reporters. “The whole reason for all of these events is to make sure that national leaders have a vehicle in which to speak and to interact with people.”

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Youngkin draws comparison between education systems

During his remarks, Youngkin attributed his campaign's success to his stance on K-12 education policies in the state, especially his opposition to COVID-19 vaccination requirements and mask mandates for students.

He said most Virginians realized the importance of parental choice in their children’s education during the pandemic in 2020.

Youngkin added he would like to expand school choice in the state through the “Virginia Opportunity Scholarship,” which would be similar to Iowa’s current Education Savings Accounts, which uses taxpayer money to fund private school scholarships for students.

Youngkin’s proposed program would provide $5,000 in private school scholarships to 10,000 low-income Virginia families.

Party leaders commend 2025 legislative session accomplishments

Also during the dinner, Iowa state leaders touted legislation passed during this year’s legislative session and commended the Republican supermajorities in both chambers.

Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair said Iowa Republicans passed “common sense” legislation this year, including lowering the age requirements to carry a handgun to 18, reducing the unemployment insurance tax and implementing Medicaid work requirements in the state.

House Speaker Pat Grassley said that even with Republican supermajorities in the Iowa House and Senate, he will continue to make sure GOP candidates are strong in every election to ensure they hold onto their numbers in the Iowa Capitol.

“When we have these super majorities, like we do, and we have in the House and that we have in the Senate, it only takes a few of those (seats) to lose those majorities,” Grassley said. “Keeping every seat and being competitive in every race is the goal that I have.”

Between speakers, in the middle of the dinner, a sequined jacket sporting “Grand Old Party” across the front in white block letters was auctioned off to attendees. House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl won the jacket after bidding $1,200.

Afterward, House Speaker Pat Grassley asked whether Windschitl would wear the jacket.

“The speaker would like to know if you’re gonna wear that,” Kaufmann asked.

“Only if he does first,” Windschitl shouted back.

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