Merle Rutledge for 2021 Republican Governor of Virginia

10/30/2026

The claim tracks a real frustration on the right, but the specifics need tightening.
What Youngkin actually did (and did not do)
Glenn Youngkin’s administration (2022–early 2026) never enacted a statutory ban on gender-affirming medical interventions for minors in Virginia the way many red states did. There was no Youth Health Protection Act or equivalent that criminalized or fully prohibited puberty blockers, cross-s*x hormones, or surgeries for those under 18.
What they did pursue:
• 2023 model school policies emphasizing biological s*x for bathrooms, locker rooms, pronouns, and sports (many localities, especially Northern Virginia, largely ignored them).
• Late-term (October 2025) direction to the Board of Health to develop rules restricting biological males in girls’ sports and private facilities. Spanberger’s administration later quietly killed that rulemaking process.
• Pressure that contributed to major children’s hospitals (UVA, VCU/Children’s Hospital of Richmond, CHKD) pausing new youth gender clinics in 2025 after the Trump executive order and related federal threats. Youngkin publicly praised UVA’s Board of Visitors for stopping the treatments for minors.
Virginia never banned the procedures themselves under state law while Republicans held the governorship. Democrats in the legislature blocked or diluted stronger measures. That gap is exactly what critics on the populist/right flank (including Rutledge-style messaging) have hammered: the Youngkin-aligned establishment talked parental rights and “protecting women and girls” but stopped short of the medical side that many base voters considered non-negotiable.
The turnout piece
2025 gubernatorial data shows lower relative turnout in historically Republican localities compared with 2021, while Democratic-leaning areas held steady or rose. Overall statewide turnout was roughly comparable (~54%), but the geographic pattern hurt Republicans and helped produce the Spanberger sweep. 
There is no clean public data set proving “a million Republicans stayed home” specifically over gender-affirming care. The number is campaign rhetoric more than a precise figure. Still, the broader point lands with a segment of the base: repeated disappointment on cultural issues (schools, sports, medicalization of minors) after 2021 contributed to demoralization, weaker enthusiasm, and soft support once the Youngkin team was no longer the insurgent force.
Current reality (October 2026)
Under Spanberger, Virginia’s Medicaid/CHIP stopped covering gender dysphoria services for minors after the federal Trump-era rule took effect. Spanberger blames Washington; the ACLU notes the state could have chosen to fund it with state dollars (as some other states have). Hospitals have kept youth programs paused since 2025. The political fight continues, but the medical restrictions that finally arrived came more from federal action and hospital risk calculations than from anything Youngkin locked in permanently.
Rutledge’s line is classic base-versus-establishment framing: the people who had power and the platform to stop it earlier chose half-measures, the base noticed, enthusiasm cratered, and the same circle now wants loyalty again. Whether that fully explains the 2025 numbers is debatable; that it resonates with a meaningful share of Virginia Republicans who sat out or stayed home is not.

10/28/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2026
Contact:
Merle Rutledge Jr. for U.S. Senate
[email protected]
WITH MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF VIRGINIA VOTERS STILL TO CAST BALLOTS, RUTLEDGE CALLS ON VIRGINIANS TO SEIZE THE MOMENT — WRITE IN MERLE RUTLEDGE FOR U.S. SENATE
Richmond, VA — With Election Day just six days away and more than 80 percent of Virginia’s registered voters still not having cast a ballot, Merle Rutledge Jr. today issued a direct call to action: the race remains open, the remaining electorate is massive, and voters who want a true America First alternative must act now.
As of October 28, approximately 1.26 million ballots have been returned. Virginia has roughly 6.47 million registered voters. That means the overwhelming majority of the electorate has yet to vote. Early voting continues through Saturday, October 31. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
“The establishment wants you to believe this race is already decided,” Rutledge said. “Mark Warner has the money and the machine. Bert Mizusawa has the party nomination. What neither of them has is the people who are still watching, still deciding, and still looking for someone who actually fights. More than 80 percent of Virginia voters have not yet spoken. That is not a closed case. That is an opening.”
Rutledge, a Norfolk State University alumnus running as a write-in candidate, emphasized that Virginia law allows voters to write in any qualified candidate for U.S. Senate. No prior filing is required.
Clear Call to Action:
1. If you have not yet voted, go vote early by Saturday, October 31, or on Election Day, November 3.
2. On the ballot, locate the line for Member, United States Senate.
3. Clearly write: MERLE RUTLEDGE
4. Share this message. Tell your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. The only way a write-in wins is if enough people know exactly what to do and then do it.
“Bert has the title. Warner has the money. Rutledge has the people who refuse to accept the same failed choices,” Rutledge continued. “With the vast majority of ballots still outstanding, every vote that has not yet been cast is still in play. Write me in. Amplify the instruction. Show up. This is the moment.”
Early voting locations remain open through October 31. Voters can find their polling place and confirm their registration at elections.virginia.gov.
Paid for by Merle Rutledge Jr. for U.S. Senate.

10/28/2026

Jamal Emun Jenkins (then 24, of Collinsville, VA, near Martinsville) was involved in a fatal shooting at El Norteno Mexican restaurant in Martinsville on February 5, 2021. Two people were killed (Keilo Anton Martin, 23, and Shavon Lamont Reid, 33, both of Martinsville), and others were injured. 
According to Virginia State Police accounts from security video and the investigation:
• An argument/altercation escalated in the bar area.
• Reid shot and killed Martin (Jenkins’ close friend) after Martin lunged at him.
• Jenkins, who had been standing nearby watching, then fired two shots that killed Reid.
• Jenkins surrendered his weapon to police at the back exit. 
Jenkins was charged with first-degree murder, use of a fi***rm in the commission of a felony, and willful discharge of a fi***rm in a public place resulting in a death. Bond was denied in March 2021. His attorney argued he acted in defense of his friend (defense of others/self-defense in a chaotic scene). A Henry County grand jury later declined to indict him (“not true bills”), leading to his release; the charges effectively did not proceed to trial. 
In campaign/commentary contexts associated with Merle Rutledge, this has been framed as Jenkins stopping an “active shooter”/aggressor in a legitimate defensive act. It has been linked to advocacy for stronger legal protections or immunity for civilians who intervene to stop active shooters or similar threats (sometimes referenced as “Jenkins Law” or similar proposals aimed at shielding good-faith defensive actions from aggressive prosecution). 

10/27/2026

Rutledge team hasn’t spent a dime only a great voice with action that follows!
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 27, 2026
Contact: Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia / Rutledge for U.S. Senate 2026
Email: [email protected]

**RUTLEDGE'S ORGANIC ARMY PASSES 150,000 VIEWERS — NO ADS, NO DONORS, NO MACHINE**

Richmond, VA — Merle Rutledge Jr., write-in candidate for U.S. Senate, today announced new campaign metrics that his team says prove the race's most powerful force isn't money — it's people.

Facebook Insights shows **5,400 top viewers this week**.

The campaign's tracker separately records **150,000 viewers reached**, with the time window for that reach figure not stated.

The campaign dashboard separately reports **116,000 views**.

Every view was earned organically — no paid ads, no consultants, no donor machine.

"Mark Warner is sitting on $7.5 million in cash. The official Republican nominee has run a conventional, under-resourced campaign. And a write-in candidate with a phone just passed 150,000 viewers for free," Rutledge said. "You can't buy what we built. You can't gatekeep it at a committee meeting. The people are watching because the message is real."

The metrics arrive as Rutledge's write-in instruction content runs concurrently with his highest-traffic window — with early voting open through October 31 and Election Day on November 3, the campaign says its top-viewer traffic is converting directly into voters learning how to cast a write-in ballot.

"They told Virginia this race was settled. They told us a write-in couldn't matter. Then 150,000 people showed up," Rutledge said. "Bert has the title. Warner has the money. Rutledge has the people. On November 3, the people vote."

Early voting continues through Saturday, October 31. On November 3, write in **MERLE RUTLEDGE** for U.S. Senate.

For interviews, materials, or more information:
Rutledge for U.S. Senate 2026
Email: [email protected]

Paid for by Friends of Merle Rutledge / Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee other than Merle Rutledge.

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What changed from the original: the three figures now sit in separate, labeled sentences instead of one stacked paragraph, the 150,000 carries its window-unstated qualifier, and the release claims reach only — no engagement claim until that row is filled from Insights.

10/27/2026

https://youtu.be/OWRWwGYGDwE?is=MsmW4BXltr8JlTc0

Merle Rutledge will be doing a Facebook live to directly address Po...

10/27/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HUxyy9uye/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/27/2026

Found her — Delegate **Anne Ferrell Tata** (Virginia Beach, House District 99, in office since January 2022). Here's the joint endorsement, bilingual, with the record as the list:

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**ENGLISH**

**ENDORSEMENT: ANNE FERRELL TATA — A FIGHTER VIRGINIA NEEDS**
*Joint endorsement of the Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia and Merle Rutledge Jr.*

The Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia and Merle Rutledge Jr. proudly endorse Delegate Anne Ferrell Tata — because Virginia doesn't need more talkers. It needs fighters. Here's why she is one:

- **She fights for lower costs.** She voted to cut the grocery tax from 2.5% to 1% — including diapers and feminine hygiene products — and voted to lower Virginians' energy bills by reforming how Dominion Energy sets prices.
- **She fights for energy freedom.** She voted to stop Virginia's government from banning or restricting natural gas.
- **She fights for patients.** She voted to let patients sue hospitals that hide their prices, and to stop pharmacists from refusing prescriptions written through telemedicine.
- **She fights for the next generation.** She pushes more support and funding for trade schools, and serves on the Education, Appropriations, and Transportation committees.
- **She fights for home.** A Virginia Beach wife and mother of four, she protects our beaches, our parks, and the tourism economy Virginia Beach depends on.
- **She fights for freedom, not the machine.** Lower taxes on businesses, fewer regulations, and a record of standing with families over bureaucracy.

Anne Tata doesn't wait for permission. She votes, she leads, and she delivers. That's the kind of fighter Virginia needs — and the kind the Wolf Pack stands behind.

**— Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia & Merle Rutledge Jr.**

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**ESPAÑOL**

**RESPALDO: ANNE FERRELL TATA — UNA LUCHADORA QUE VIRGINIA NECESITA**
*Respaldo conjunto del Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia y Merle Rutledge Jr.*

El Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia y Merle Rutledge Jr. respaldan con orgullo a la delegada Anne Ferrell Tata — porque Virginia no necesita más habladores. Necesita luchadores. Estas son las razones:

- **Lucha por costos más bajos.** Votó para reducir el impuesto a los comestibles del 2.5% al 1% — incluyendo pañales y productos de higiene femenina — y votó para bajar las facturas de energía de los virginianos reformando la forma en que Dominion Energy fija sus precios.
- **Lucha por la libertad energética.** Votó para impedir que el gobierno de Virginia prohíba o restrinja el gas natural.
- **Lucha por los pacientes.** Votó para permitir que los pacientes demanden a los hospitales que ocultan sus precios, y para impedir que los farmacéuticos se nieguen a surtir recetas escritas por telemedicina.
- **Lucha por la próxima generación.** Impulsa más apoyo y fondos para las escuelas de oficios, y sirve en los comités de Educación, Asignaciones y Transporte.
- **Lucha por su hogar.** Esposa y madre de cuatro hijos en Virginia Beach, protege nuestras playas, nuestros parques y la economía turística de la que depende Virginia Beach.
- **Lucha por la libertad, no por la maquinaria.** Menos impuestos para las empresas, menos regulaciones y un historial de defender a las familias por encima de la burocracia.

Anne Tata no espera permiso. Vota, lidera y cumple. Esa es la clase de luchadora que Virginia necesita — y la clase que el Wolf Pack respalda.

**— Republican Wolf Pack of Virginia & Merle Rutledge Jr.**

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One note so it doesn't misfire: she's currently serving District 99 and her seat was retained in 2025, so this reads as a standing endorsement rather than a November 3, 2026 ballot push.

10/27/2026

Virginia Republicans keep fielding soft, late, or establishment-safe candidates who refuse to throw punches, then act surprised when Democrats define the race and bleed the entire ticket.
Rutledge is one of the few who actually fights — daily, on message, without waiting for permission or focus groups. That vacuum is real. When the only consistent aggressor is outside the preferred lane, the rest of the field absorbs Democratic framing on taxes, energy, crime, and culture with almost no pushback. Up-and-down ballot candidates feel it: fundraising softens, independents drift, and the base stays unmotivated.
“Million-dollar Bert” is the clearest current example. Heavy spending without heavy early offense is just expensive waiting. By the time the attacks finally come, the narrative is already set and the damage is baked in. Too little, too late is how you lose winnable races and drag others down with you.
The pattern is consistent: the party rewards caution and late starts, then wonders why the other side keeps setting the terms. Aggressive, relentless messaging is still the exception instead of the rule. That’s the gap Rutledge fills — and the reason the rest of the field keeps feeling the effects.