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NEW: Trump aides say there& #39;s a reason he is staying away from Virginia, where Biden won by double digits. He mainly doesn& #39;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">https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-vir...
Still, Trump& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;s because only the most die-hard conservatives are expected to show up and make their top picks during the state& #39;s convention, which will be scattered across 39 polling stations in the commonwealth.
There& #39;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& #39; heads spinning.
GOP operatives used various phrases like "frustration," "confusion," and "uncertainty" when Insider asked about the procedures in place headed into Virginia& #39;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& #39;s first-term agenda.
More recently, Democratic wins in 2017 paved the way for the blue wave of 2018 and culminated in Trump& #39;s back-to-back impeachments.
Now comes this month& #39;s Republican race in Virginia to nominate a gubernatorial candidate who will oppose the eventual Democratic candidate.
Now comes this month& #39;s Republican race in Virginia to nominate a gubernatorial candidate who will oppose the eventual Democratic candidate.
November& #39;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& #39;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">https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-vir...
