Virginia’s November Elections Cited as ‘Test Case’ for Republicans’ National 2024 Aspirations

Republicans believe they can win by turning the election into a referendum on the governor’s proposed 15-week abortion ban.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, here speaking in Smithfield, Va., in October 2022, is not on the commonwealth's 2023 ballot, but his proposed 15-week abortion ban puts him and abortion top-most on voters' minds as they go to the polls for Virginia's November elections. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Republicans are furiously campaigning—and campaign spending—to expand a narrow U.S. House advantage while targeting vulnerable Democrat-held Senate seats to flip that chamber, capture all three branches of the government, and install a conservative agenda.

That’s the GOP’s Nov. 5, 2024, plan.