RICHOMND, Va. – Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia, stuck to his message of lower taxes and less government regulation as the campaign entered the home stretch.

Youngkin, who has generally steered clear of outside supporters in the final stretch, held a Saturday evening rally in suburban Richmond at the start of a statewide bus tour. He will be in Danville with the other statewide candidates later in the week.

Speaking to a crowd of about 2,000 people in a field next to a grocery market, he delivered a half-hour outline of his platform, promising to cut taxes, roll back red tape, ban critical race theory and roll out an expansive charter school program.

He said the election offered a chance to change the trajectory of the state to one where the “relentless pursuit of a better life, of prosperity is not burdened or blocked by self-dealing politicians.”

“This thing is a toss-up,” he said, and later predicted that he would win.