“I don’t think Trump has the courage to come back to Virginia.”

— Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), in an MSNBC interview, on whether he expects Donald Trump to campaign for Glenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia’s gubernatorial race.

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Virginia’s Democratic trend gives Terry McAuliffe an early edge, but it’s common for Virginia gubernatorial races to look a lot different than the previous year’s presidential race.”

“Matchups for the state’s down-ballot races were also set, but don’t expect a ton of ticket-splitting among the state’s three statewide elected offices.”

NBC News: “Two weeks before Democrats pick his opponent, Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin is hitting Virginia’s airwaves with his first TV ad of the general election in the state’s race for governor.”

“Youngkin’s ad is airing statewide over the next two weeks, including in pricey Northern Virginia, at a cost of $1.6 million.”

Following several threats to run as an independent over a Virginia GOP nominating process for Governor she called “rigged,” state Sen. Amanda Chase (R) told Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid she will instead support nominee Glenn Youngkin (R).

Washington Post: “Before securing the GOP nomination for Virginia governor, Glenn Youngkin sidestepped questions about whether President Biden had legitimately won the White House — something followers of former president Donald Trump doubt.”

“But days after winning both the nomination and Trump’s endorsement, Youngkin appeared to change his rhetoric.”

Said Youngkin: “I have said before that Joe Biden was legitimately elected our president.”

The Democratic Governors Association launched 15 and 30-second ads aimed at tying Virginia gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin (R) to former President Trump.

They also launched a new website, TrumpFirstVirginiaSecond.com.

Cook Political Report: “Youngkin winning is certainly encouraging good news for Republicans, but Democrats still have the recent history and ideological shift in the state on their side. We initially rated this race Likely Democrat, and for now we are keeping it there until we know officially who the Democratic nominee is after the June 8 primary.”

“While it’s McAuliffe, who was barred from running for a second consecutive term, is the obvious frontrunner, there’s a question of what Black turnout could be in November as well given the former governor is running against two African-American women candidates in former state Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan who are looking to make history as the first Black female governor in U.S. history. And we need to see data that we just don’t have now on how a McAuliffe vs. Youngkin race starts out.”

Former President Donald Trump offered his “complete and total endorsement” of Glenn Youngkin (R) in the Virginia race for governor.

Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin (R) “will be a fascinating test case ahead of next year’s midterm elections: Can a wealthy GOP outsider — who has embraced Trump, campaigned on election integrity and declined to say that Joe Biden’s 2020 victory was legitimate — win in blue Virginia, especially in its suburbs?,” NBC News reports.

“Or now that Trump is out of the White House and off of Twitter, are Democratic and suburban voters less fired up in Virginia than they were four years ago?”

“Glenn Youngkin, the multimillionaire businessman who sought to cast himself as a political outsider with the best chance to challenge Democratic power, will represent Republicans in the race to become Virginia’s next governor,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

“Fueled by his own fortune, Youngkin, former co-CEO of a global investment firm, used the biggest war chest in the race, a limited public record and in-person campaigning to overcome tough odds. He will become the face of the state party as it heads into a pivotal November election, when the GOP will try to end its banishment from the Executive Mansion since Bob McDonnell left office in 2014.”

With 95% of the votes in for the Virginia GOP gubernatorial nomination — but before any candidates have been eliminated in the coming rounds of ranked choice voting — VPAP reports that Glenn Youngkin leads the race with 32%, followed by Pete Snyder (R) at 26%, and Amanda Chase at 21%.

Washington Post: “Voters appeared to turn out in large numbers — by convention standards — although the party did not have a total available by Saturday evening.”

“A crew of about 60 will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday to tally the ballots by hand, a method three gubernatorial contenders demanded amid fears that vote-counting software the party was considering could be rigged against them. Determining a winner will be no simple matter. Convention rules require the nominee to secure a majority, not a mere plurality. [The ranked-choice] ballots will be tallied over and over, with the lowest vote-getter dropping off after each round.”

Wall Street Journal: “Virginia Republicans are picking their nominee at a convention via a ranked-choice voting system, with delegates gathering to make their choices at dozens of locations around the state. Results aren’t expected to be tallied and made public until next week.”

“Former Virginia GOP officials — including those from the state’s northern parts, where proximity to Washington, D.C., and growth have helped accelerate widespread Democratic victories — say Republicans risk a Democratic win if they nominate a candidate too closely aligned with Mr. Trump.”

The Hill: Virginia GOP set for wild, unpredictable convention.

Virginia Mercury: “An AR-15 brandished during a virtual candidate forum. A flood of mysterious attack mailers. A candidate’s unabashed love of hot dogs.”

“The contest to become the Republican candidate for governor is entering its final week, and the race remains just as unusual as when it started.”

Meanwhile, Medium Buying reports that the two former business executives–Pete Snyder and Glenn Youngkin have dominated the spending: out of more than $4.6 million in TV and radio spending on the Republican side, Glenn Youngkin has spent $2.2 million and Pete Snyder has spent $1.85 million.