Glenn Youngkin, the Republican campaigning to become the next governor of Virginia, has donated $1 million to a political action committee that has supported politicians who questioned the integrity of the 2020 election and who have voiced support for individuals who participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
Mother Jones was first to detail the connections between Youngkin and the various candidates supported by the Virginia Wins PAC in an article published Thursday morning. According to campaign finance records publicly available through the Virginia Department of Elections website, Youngkin donated a total of $1 million to the PAC by September 30.
The Washington Post also mentioned Youngkin’s $1 million in donations to the PAC in an article published earlier this week that explored the conservative politicians and PACs Youngkin has contributed to over the last two decades.
According to the nonpartisan, nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), Youngkin is Virginia Wins’ top donor, with the PAC reporting three other donors who have contributed a total of $50,500 this year. Youngkin announced he would be contributing $1 million to the PAC in August, according to the website Virginia Scope.
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In its article, Mother Jones pointed to a handful of Virginia Wins donation recipients who have either questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election or defended some of the individuals who were present at the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The article linked to examples of times when the politicians posted their opinions about the election on social media, such as when Ronnie Campbell, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, posted a message on Facebook that read, in part, “Democrats are trying to steal this election.” The post, which Facebook marked as containing “partly false information,” was accompanied by a video of Steve Bannon, an ally of former President Donald Trump, and a link to a video in which Trump’s then-campaign attorney Sidney Powell raised allegations of election fraud.
Campaign finance records obtained by VPAP show Campbell reported a $3,000 donation from Virginia Wins at the end of May.
Also included in the Mother Jones article was mention of another member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, John McGuire III. According to VPAP records, McGuire also reported $3,000 from Virginia Wins near the end of May. McGuire said during an interview in July that he was present at the rally on January 6 but said he did not enter the Capitol, according to The Washington Post.
Three of the other politicians listed in Mother Jones‘ article reported receiving contributions from Virginia Wins ranging from $3,000 to $31,000. One of the six individuals cited in the report had received $2,000 from the PAC but ultimately decided against running for re-election, according to Mother Jones.
Less than two weeks remain until Virginians decide who will become their next governor, and recent polling has indicated the race between Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe is close. McAuliffe has repeatedly criticized Youngkin for the support he has received from Trump, who continues to question the integrity of the 2020 election despite election security officials identifying it as the “most secure in American history.”
After receiving the Republican nomination in Virginia’s gubernatorial election earlier this year, Youngkin said he believed the 2020 election was legitimate and has publicly condemned the violence that occurred during the Capitol riots on January 6. After a GOP rally in Virginia last week, during which Trump reiterated his support for Youngkin and attendees pledged allegiance to a flag event hosts said had been at the January 6 Trump rally, Youngkin issued a statement describing the move to pledge allegiance to that particular flag as “weird and wrong” and said the violence at the January 6 riot was “sickening and wrong.”
Newsweek reached out to Youngkin’s campaign for comment and will update this article with any response.
