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NEW: Trump aides say there's a reason he is staying away from Virginia, where Biden won by double digits. He mainly doesn't want to get tagged a loser if his pick gets clobbered this fall by Democrats. By @tomlobianco & @WARojas ($) https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-virginia-republicans-chase-snyder-youngkin-cox-davis-cruz-endorsement-2021-5
Still, Trump's absence is making for significant chaos as Virginia Rs get ready to go to the polls Sat to pick from a wide-open gubernatorial field that includes a woman who bills herself as "Trump in heels,"& an establishment player backed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"There's a sorting here that is basically going to be true believers," said former Rep. Tom Davis, who served seven terms in Congress representing a suburban Washington, DC, district.
Virginia's current MAGA-size endorsement hole also offers a poignant look into a post-Trump party that is shaping up to be bonkers, Virginia Republicans tell @thisisinsider
That's because only the most die-hard conservatives are expected to show up and make their top picks during the state's convention, which will be scattered across 39 polling stations in the commonwealth.
There's also a complicated delegate-based, ranked-choice voting process that party leaders cobbled together instead of a traditional one-vote-per-person primary, which has even the sharpest strategists' heads spinning.
GOP operatives used various phrases like "frustration," "confusion," and "uncertainty" when Insider asked about the procedures in place headed into Virginia's voting.
"Anybody who tells you they know what is happening is full of s---," said one former Trump White House official keeping tabs on the state race.
There are bigger stakes too coming out of Virginia for Trump, Biden, Democrats, and the GOP. Politicians & pundits for decades have looked to the so-called off-year elections in VA & NJ that come immediately after a presidential race to gauge where the country is headed.
Republican sweeps in both of those states in 2009 foretold the tea-party wave during the 2010 midterms, when the GOP won control of the US House and crippled President Barack Obama's first-term agenda.
More recently, Democratic wins in 2017 paved the way for the blue wave of 2018 and culminated in Trump's back-to-back impeachments.
Now comes this month's Republican race in Virginia to nominate a gubernatorial candidate who will oppose the eventual Democratic candidate.
Now comes this month's Republican race in Virginia to nominate a gubernatorial candidate who will oppose the eventual Democratic candidate.
November's general-election winner is expected to give a useful glimpse into the mood of voters as Biden and Democrats defend their narrow House and Senate majorities in 2022.
Subscribe to @thisisinsider for the full report on Virginia 2021 and much more from the whole newsroom. Click from here to sign up: Trump is staying out of the Virginia GOP's governor race. His absence is making a chaotic campaign even more bonkers. https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-virginia-republicans-chase-snyder-youngkin-cox-davis-cruz-endorsement-2021-5
