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Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday that he has received an endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia.
Youngkin has been stumping on investing public safety officers since the start of his campaign. In a poll released Monday, Youngkin had a six-point lead over his opponent in trust to handle issues with law enforcement.
“On behalf of the 6,618 members of the Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia, we firmly endorse Glenn Youngkin for Governor of Virginia,” said Fraternal Order of Police President, John H. Ohrnberger. “Mr. Youngkin is the only gubernatorial candidate to sit down with the Fraternal Order of Police and outline his goals as governor.”
A key talking point for the Republican nominee is to protect qualified immunity for police officers. Youngkin’s Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe recently switched his position on qualified immunity saying he would protect it after originally indicating during the primary race that he would support ending it.
Youngkin and McAuliffe are locked in a tight race. McAuliffe has tried to point out that he has historically supported law enforcement, but the calls during the last year for accountability in law enforcement has made the issue a political one, giving Republicans the talking point to say they are the pro-police party, as they have mostly opposed any substantial criminal justice reforms.
According to the latest poll from Monmouth, however, the top issues on Virginia voters’ minds right now are the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and education. McAuliffe led on the pandemic and education, but Youngkin, the former finance executive, held a one-point lead on handling the economy.
“I am honored to have the support of the Fraternal Order of Police, and look forward to working closely with them and the rest of Virginia’s law enforcement community to make Virginia’s neighborhoods among the safest in the nation, not the most dangerous,” Youngkin said Tuesday.
The election is taking place on Nov. 2. Early voting began in mid-September.
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