VIRGINIA, USA — Virginia House Speaker Don Scott spoke on the Republican Party's push to turn Virginia from a blue state to a red state on Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump and Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin have repeatedly said that Virginia is in play for the GOP in this upcoming presidential election. But Scott, a Democrat, said he doesn't think so.

Scott pointed out strong wins by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and President Biden in 2020.

"When COVID was happening, when we literally lost over a million Americans, President Trump did nothing, and so Biden came in, steadied the ship, got our economy back rolling. So I'm excited to talk about what President Biden has done vis a vis the record of President Trump," Scott said.

In recent presidential elections, candidates haven't  spent much time in Virginia since the state has leaned more on the blue side. However, in the past, the Commonwealth was a key battleground state after being reliably red.