Bill Kristol backs McAuliffe in Virginia gubernatorial race

Longtime Conservative commentator and outspoken critic of the former President TrumpDonald Trump envoy Biden calls on North Korea to resume nuclear talks Biden’s misguided about-face on COVID testing puts us all at risk. Bill Kristol endorsed Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor race on Tuesday.

Kristol is one of 17 Republicans who will officially support the former governor on Tuesday, according to the Washington Post.

“He’s a moderate Democrat, and he’s not going to put an end to commercial, economic, etc. success. from Virginia. He’s the kind of Democrat I’m comfortable supporting, ”Kristol told The Post.

Kristol, who served as former Vice President Dan Quayle’s chief of staff, is known to have helped overturn former President Clinton’s health care plan in 1993 and for pushing for the US invasion from Iraq in 2003.

However, Kristol in recent years has been known as one of Trump’s most outspoken conservative critics. Kristol criticized Youngkin’s initial embrace of Trump at the GOP convention earlier this year.

“A lot of them had pictures of Trump, or quotes from Trump. And I remember more clearly than that, his main problem was electoral integrity, ”he said, referring to campaign senders at the convention. “And I thought, ‘Oh, my God. Truly?’ … I think he made his bet that he had to be Trumpy enough to win the nomination, and then he stayed there.

Youngkin’s campaign swept aside Kristol’s endorsement, telling the Post in a statement that “it exemplifies the old and tired McAuliffe way of doing things that failed Virginia.”

“A 43-year-old political boss like Terry McAuliffe bartering endorsements from fellow political crooks is neither impressive nor surprising,” said Youngkin campaign spokesman Matt Wolking.

The approval comes as Democrats in Virginia work to tie Youngkin to Trump, who lost Virginia in 2016 and 2020.

The Cook Political Report classifies Virginia’s race as “skinny Democrat.” A Roanoke College poll released last week showed McAuliffe having an 8 point lead over Youngkin, while a Virginia Commonwealth University poll released last week showed McAuliffe a 3 point lead.