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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on Saturday that inflation will be the top issue for voters this November and his state could be winnable for former President Donald Trump.

“Is it going to be a lift?” Youngkin said. “Yes, but it is competitive.”

Youngkin said Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, would be bad for the economy because she would not renew the tax cuts made under Trump’s previous administration.

“We’ve watched an economy where the brakes come on,” Youngkin said. “The reality, of course, is that the Biden-Harris administration unleashed unfettered spending that drives inflation.”

Youngkin also talked at length about public schools and how they are funded. He supports school vouchers – the taxpayer-funded subsidies parents could use to send their children to private school – but blames Democrats for defeating the issue in his state.

“Families from all over Virginia, from rural Virginia [to] urban Virginia…want it,” Youngkin said, at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, the featured guest to close out the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival.

During an interview with Tribune co-founder Evan Smith, Youngkin, 57, recalled how the pandemic fueled his platform and decision to run for governor after a career in private equity. His campaign was able to tap successfully into the frustration many parents had during the pandemic when, after schools closed, they were able to view their children’s public school instruction via Zoom.

“The progressive left was comfortable with the curriculum as it was being delivered into the schools,” Youngkin said. “The progressive left also was very comfortable with all the kids and that stuff all the time.”

The failed attempts to pass a school voucher program in Virginia did not close off other alternative education programs. Youngkin talked at length about a model the state is pursuing: laboratory schools.

In addition to public schools and charter schools, this third type of secondary education partners a select group of public schools with colleges and universities to create about a dozen laboratory schools. Each one concentrates on a particular vocational specialty across the commonwealth. Higher education institutions create their own curriculum, which is reviewed by the state.

Two years ago, Virginia lawmakers approved a $100 million fund to bankroll the creation of the laboratory schools. Students are accepted through a lottery system.

Youngkin also approved a 3% pay hike for Virginia public school teachers raises, and a 40% increase in public education funding.

“We need great teachers in the classrooms,” Youngkin said. “And we should pay them,”

Despite his push for education savings accounts in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott‘s campaign to make school vouchers a reality, failed during the legislative sessions of 2023. The issue is expected to return in the upcoming 2025 legislative session.

When asked about his future, Youngkin said he’s not thinking about what’s next for him until his time in government is over.

“I fundamentally believe that … the problem we have is that we built a political class that believes politics is a career, as opposed to public service,” Youngkin said. “And for me, I believe it’s public service.”

The Paramount Theatre has been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Be there Sept. 5–7 for 100-plus unforgettable conversations featuring more than 300 speakers, including Stacey Abrams, Colin Allred, Liz Cheney, Richard Linklater, Nancy Pelosi, Rick Perry, Gretchen Whitmer and Glenn Youngkin.

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