BUCK: We got a big gubernatorial showdown that is just weeks away here in the state of Virginia, the state that after New York, D.C., and Massachusetts — actually after New York and D.C. — I’ve spent the most time in. Virginia is a great state and deserves a great governor. We’ve got with us right now, gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin.

He launched a Parents Matter Initiative, which is a movement of parents, families, children and neighbors that will stand up and reject Terry McAuliffe’s attempts to silence parents stand them between them and their children’s education. He is running for governor: Glenn Youngkin with us now. Sir, how are you?

YOUNGKIN: I’m doing great. Thank you so much for having me back on your show. We’ve got a ton of momentum, and we’re gonna go win this thing on November 2nd.

BUCK: To the point about momentum, just if any were out there doing a quick Google search like I did of the latest headlines, we’ve got Politico: “‘Are we blowing this?’ McAuliffe and friends plead for online cash.” The Washington Post: “Why Glenn Youngkin has the momentum in Virginia.” “CNN…” I love this one. “CNN sounds alarm on Terry McAuliffe’s campaign blunders.” Gosh, what have you been doing, Glenn? (laughing)

YOUNGKIN: Well, we’ve been running a campaign focused on Virginia, and I’m not a politician. I’ve never run for office before, and I think the job of the governor is to go work for Virginians. And my opponent has been focused on all other aspects. He is trying to make this a national race. This about Virginia and Virginia’s future.

And what Virginians absolutely need is a governor who will bring our cost of living down by cutting taxes, by making sure we have the best jobs, the best schools, and the safest communities. And it’s that simple. And that’s why Virginians are coming together like never before. It’s no longer Republicans against Democrats. This is Republicans, independents, and a lot of Democrats standing up and saying “no” to this progressive, left-wing agenda that’s tried to move Virginia to California East. And Virginians are just saying, “No, not here.”

CLAY: Potential future governor Youngkin, I appreciate you coming on with us. One of the, I would say, viral moments that has captured not only Virginia, but much of the nation, has been the debate over how involved parents should be in what their kids are taught in schools. Terry McAuliffe said that parents shouldn’t be involved. Were you surprised that he said that? How wrong is he? How do you believe that parents should be involved in their kids’ educations?

YOUNGKIN: Well, first, Terry McAuliffe showed everybody his heart (chuckles), that he thinks government and politicians and bureaucrats should stand between children and their parents. I just know so differently, but also Virginia does. I mean, we have a law in Virginia that gives parents a fundamental right to be involved in their kids’ education!

It is on the books, and here we have Terry McAuliffe saying, “No, I don’t want parents involved in our kids’ education,” because he wants the education unions to dominate everything. They’ve been funding his campaign. They tell him what to do. And what’s worse is when he saw parents standing up for their kids’ rights in school boards, he called his friend Joe Biden and had Joe Biden send the FBI in to try to silence parents and keep us from using our constitutional First Amendment right to say what we believe. This is what Terry McAuliffe is all about: Big Government control, silencing parents — and, worse, trying to separate the fundamental right that parents have to be involved in their kids’ education and give it to government.

BUCK: We’re speaking to candidate for governor in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin. Glenn, you’re in a tight race here, and Virginia’s getting a lot of attention these days, as we’ve been discussing, over the notion of parents showing up at meetings, critical race theory instruction, and Loudoun County has been on the very forefront of this battle that really has become a national movement of parents becoming more involved in their children’s education. How did this happen in Loudoun County, and what would you want to do in Virginia and elsewhere across the country to address the concerns of parents out there when it comes to leftist indoctrination of their kids?

YOUNGKIN: Yeah, well, this started in Loudoun County because all of a sudden for 20 months, parents got a chance to see what was happening in the classroom because Virginia schools — and particularly Northern Virginia schools in Fairfax County and Loudoun County — kept the conceals closed for an absolutely unnecessary period of time. And that’s when it started because parents got to see what was happening in their kids’ education.

And so the first step of this was parents standing up saying, “Open our schools. Goodness gracious!” So, first of all, as governor I’m gonna make sure our schools are never closed again to five days a week in classroom, in person education. But the second thing that, of course, happened was parents now saw what was going on and couldn’t believe that our children were being taught what to think as opposed to how to think.

And critical race theory is a political agenda. That’s what it is. It’s not an academic curriculum. It teaches our children to view everything through a lens of race and then it divides them into buckets and then tells one group they’re not gonna achieve their dreams because they’re privileged, and another group they’re not gonna achieve their dreams because they’re victims, and it just steals dreams, and this —

CLAY: We’re talking to Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin. I’m fascinated by this, governor potentially Youngkin. I keep saying that ’cause I’m rooting for you so significantly to win, ’cause I think it’s an important message that you would send. But Joe Biden won the state of the Virginia by 10 points.

Your opponent, Terry McAuliffe, came out and said there’s no doubt that Joe Biden is underwater in terms of popularity in the state of Virginia. I understand your point that this is a Virginia-based election, not a national referendum. But for all of our listeners nationwide, many of whom don’t live in Virginia, what is the importance not only for Virginia, but in terms of the larger message that is being sent if you are elected the governor of Virginia, in your mind?

YOUNGKIN: Well, two big messages. One is parents around America are absolutely looking to parents in Virginia to stand up for ’em. And here we have a chance to come to the polls — as parents, as aunts, as uncles, as grandparents — to stand up for our kids because parents all over America are seeing the exact same thing at their school board meetings in their schools.

And they need someone to stand up and say, “No, there is absolutely a better way.” But the second thing that, of course, is happening is this is a moment for Virginians to show that a state that has been pretty darn blue for the last 10 years has come together around the most important, most important agenda, which is great jobs, great schools, low crime, and low taxes.

And, in fact, in face of what we’re seeing out of Washington, which is just a failed presidency, and what we’re seeing coming out of our capital, Richmond, which is single-party rule that has dragged Virginia to become California East, as I said earlier, Americans are watching us stand up as Virginians and chart a new path forward.

And this is why this election is so important, because this is the first step, the first step of showing that there is such a better way and that Republicans can come together with independents — and, yes, with a lot Democrats — and elect a new kind of candidate, a nonpolitician. I’ve never been in politics before. My opponent’s been doing it for 43 years; I’ve been doing it for 43 weeks! And we have a chance to make a huge statement across this entire country of a better way forward.

BUCK: Candidate for governor in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin. Glenn, Clay and I are rooting for you. It’s fun ’cause this is an opinion show; we get to just say that.

CLAY: (laughing)

BUCK: Glenn, we are rooting for you, man, we and any folks that want to help or get involved should go?

YOUNGKIN: Yeah, I’d love… This is no longer a campaign. This is a movement, and I’d ask anybody to join us at YoungkinForGovernor.com. Again it’s YoungkinForGovernor.com or any one of the social media platforms at #GlennYoungkin. Please join us. We are gonna beat Terry McAuliffe. We’re gonna make a statement that’s heard around the country that in fact, Republicans are gonna take back Virginia.

BUCK: Thanks so much. Glenn Youngkin, everybody. Have him back on hopefully after he’s the new governor of Virginia.