Is THIS the man to beat Donald Trump? GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia touted as ‘lifeboat’ candidate for 2024 nomination if DeSantis continues to flop after polls showed he would triumph over Biden in liberal-leaning Old Dominion

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has been touted as a potential Republican rival to Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination.

Republicans who hate the thought of another Trump nomination would view the moderate Old Dominion conservative as a “lifeboat” candidate as former golden boy Ron DeSantis continues to fail in polls.

Youngkin, 56, slammed longtime Clinton family ally and former governor of the liberal-leaning state Terry McAuliffe in 2021, with many suggesting he was part of a new wave of Republican leaders.

However, because the GOP fell short of expectations in the 2022 midterm elections and has yet to come up with a substantial alternative to the controversial Trump, Youngkin’s name is being suggested by some as a “lifeboat” candidate.

The governor of Virginia has an approval rating of 57 percent in a state that Biden won by 10 points in 2020, with show polls he would be the first Republican to win a presidential race in the liberal-leaning state since 2004 in people voted today.

Youngkin, who has a limited term in office and cannot run for governor again in 2025, claims he is more focused on his state’s legislative elections in November.

Earlier this year, Axios reported that he was considering re-entering the 2024 race — having previously retired — after DeSantis performed much worse than expected on the campaign trail.

“I’m excited about the midterms,” ​​he told the Wall Street Journal. “It gives us a chance to take our case back to the voters and say, ‘This is how we did it. We’d like you to extend our license to lead by electing a House run by Republicans and flipping the Senate.”

He endorsed ten primary candidates this summer, and each of them advanced to November’s general.

“If Mr. Youngkin flips the Senate in the fall and no alternative to Mr. Trump has emerged, the pressure on the governor to jump into the presidential race will be immense, regardless of looming application deadlines,” the editorial writes. of the Journal. .

It comes after DeSantis and his wife Casey were harassed by angry protesters who made reference to an embarrassing claim that Florida’s governor eats chocolate pudding with his hands.

The aspiring 2024 presidential candidate and his glamorous wife awkwardly walked away as two women in t-shirts with the words “Bitches get stuff done” pointed at them in Menlo, Iowa, on Friday.

Heather Ryan, 51, shrieked her protest loudly into a megaphone and then launched into a foul-mouthed tirade at a male bystander who tried to stop her.

Onlookers claim she also called DeSantis “pudding fingers,” though that moment was not caught on camera.

It was a reference to a Daily Beast story published earlier this year that alleged the legislator eats chocolate pudding without utensils, a claim DeSantis has denied but has haunted him ever since.

ATTENTION, STRONG LANGUAGE

Instead, he went on to talk about his commitment to returning the U.S. military to a mission-first mindset. He said the protesters at the Melo Freedom Rock have no respect for veterans.

Racist, fascist, anti-gay. Ron DeSantis, go away,” Heather Ryan, 51, of Bondurant, Iowa, and Kara Ryan, 28, of Des Moines, Iowa, shouted into a megaphone.

Donald Trump has also addressed the chocolate pudding claims, including a line about DeSantis’ “dirty fingers” in one of his ads.

The allegations have fueled claims that DeSantis is a socially awkward candidate who lacks the charisma necessary to propel him to the White House.

DeSantis, a former GOP golden boy on his stewardship of the Sunshine State, continues to fall in polls, with figures from FiveThirtyEight showing he is the choice of just 14.3 percent of GOP voters, down from 53.7 percent who would like to see Donald Trump run for president again.

The Ryan ladies told DailyMail.com that they were tipped off via TikTok about DeSantis’ very intimate stop in Menlo.

“They’re not even from this county and they come and they want to scream about other people,” DeSantis told the press while still drowned out by the chanting of bullhorns and the ringing of cowbells. ‘We don’t work like that. And we want to take people to a higher level, we want to aim higher. We want a country that can be united again.’

“Such people are holding this country back,” he added. “People like this are the reason we lose as Americans because they have no respect for what these people wearing the uniform did. And they don’t care about honoring the people who stood up and fought for us.”

“So as the only veteran running for president, I can tell you I care about you. It means a lot to me.’

Heather Ryan told DailyMail.com that she considers DeSantis to be the devil.

“I protest against Satan,” Ryan said. So I protest against that. He’s Satan.’

“I think he’s more dangerous than Trump because he’s smarter than Trump,” she added. Trump is an idiot. You know, Trump has a big personality, so I’m sure he’ll get the nomination. DeSantis has no personality, but he’s still dangerous.”

DeSantis & Co. storm Iowa this week ahead of their performance at the State Fair on Saturday.

The nation’s first primary caucus state will welcome nearly all presidential candidates to speak on the Political Soapbox, sit down for a “fairside chat” with Iowa Gov. some burgers or try unique food selections.

The only 2024 hopefuls not appearing on the stock market are former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election. Biden faces two Democratic competitors, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson, who are both coming to Iowa this coming weekend.

DeSantis departed the state capital of Des Moines Friday morning and the first stop of the day was at Freedom Rock in Menlo, where protesters were the first to greet him.

He moved on to a much more welcoming crowd at the Downtowner Family Restaurant in Atlantic, then stopped at an American Legion in Harlan before making a quick pit stop at the Audubon truck stop.

The day concluded with a very brief visit to a Windstar Lines Charter Bus Company location in front of its City Hall in Panora, Iowa.