Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Glen Youngkin conceded this week that President Biden was “legitimately” elected after making restoring faith in “election integrity” a centerpiece of his campaign.

In an interview Thursday on Fox Business, Youngkin offered his strongest remarks yet that Biden was duly elected, marking a shift from the past when he declined to definitively say Biden won the November race without any irregularities.

“I have said before that Joe Biden was legitimately elected our president. I mean, he took the oath. He’s sleeping in the White House. He’s unfortunately signing executive order after executive order,” Youngkin said.

The interview came a day after he indicated to a local reporter a shift in his attitude on the matter.

“Yeah,” he told a WAVY-TV reporter when asked if Biden’s win was legitimate. “He’s our president. I mean, he slept in the White House last night. Joe Biden’s our president, and we have to move forward.” 

The remarks come days after Youngkin won a crowded race to win the GOP nomination in the gubernatorial contest. The former Carlyle Group executive, like many others in the primary, tied himself closely to former President Trump to endear himself to a Republican electorate that is still broadly supportive of Trump. Several other GOP contenders had also declined to say Biden’s win was legitimate.

The pivot by Youngkin underscores the reality that Republicans will have to expand the electorate beyond just the party base to win statewide. Once a conservative bastion, Virginia has increasingly become a Democratic haven. The party controls all levers of state government and Biden won Virginia by more than 10 points.