“Virginia (like New Jersey) holds its quadrennial gubernatorial election in the year after the presidential election. This is often referred to as a ‘correction election’ – because the party that lost the preceding year’s presidential election tends to have good odds of winning, and the margins might be tea leaves for the following year’s midterms. In 2009, for example, Republicans won both the Virginia and New Jersey governorships (Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie respectively), and in the next year’s midterms, the GOP won back control of the House and gained seven seats in the Senate. This year, instead of having a traditional primary run by the state, the Virginia GOP decided to have a drive-through ‘unassembled convention’ in dozens of locations. This tactic is what the party used in 2020 to shove out former Rep. Denver Riggleman for, among other things, officiating a gay wedding. Riggleman’s district goes from the North Carolina border to the D.C. exurbs, meaning that more moderate voters from up north would have had to spend close to seven hours round-trip driving to a church in Lynchburg, where, coincidentally, Riggleman’s opponent attends.”

“This time, the Virginia GOP opted for a convention to push out another candidate: Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase, who probably had a good shot at winning a normal primary. Chase is the Trumpiest of the three candidates with a reasonable shot. She’s like the Blazin’ wing sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings, you have to sign a waiver before you try it – which would make marketing executive Pete Snyder and former Carlyle Group CEO Glenn Youngkin the Wild and Mango Habanero. All are Trumpy and spicy, but to the electorate outside of die-hard Republicans, they might as well all be the same. Keep in mind, this is the same party that previously nominated Corey Stewart and Ken Cuccinelli for statewide office. The days of Medium Ed Gillespie and Mild Bob McDonnell are over. The price of entry to Virginia Republican politics these days is a high-Scoville MAGA heat-unit rating” – The Bulwark.