If Republicans want more victories like Glenn Youngkin’s in Virginia’s gubernatorial election, the party must learn to coalesce around issues relevant to voters and avoid fixating on things “voters care nothing about,” Fox News host Trey Gowdy said Sunday.

Youngkin, a first-time candidate who hails from the business wing of the Republican Party, narrowly defeated former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in a statewide contest with significant national implications.

Tuesday’s election in Virginia, a one-time battleground but still competitive state, is seen as a key barometer ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when Republicans aim to win back control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, where the Democrats hold razor-thin majorities.

GOP SEES YOUNGKIN’S VICTORY AS BLUEPRINT TO WIN BACK CONGRESS IN 2022

Gowdy, on “Sunday Night in America” emphasized Youngkin’s ability to flip a typically blue state red, noting that “a double-digit political deficit in less than 12 months is rare.”

But, he said, Republicans take note of the “why. Why did Glenn Youngkin win and why did Winsome Sears win. What issues did they run on? And can those issues be used in other races? What was their tone and demeanor?” he asked.

“To understand elections, we must focus on the why. Why did Republicans win? Why did the state go from Biden to Glenn Youngkin in less than a year? Was it a repudiation on the left, an embrace on the right, or something else?” the host continued.

Youngkin’s emphasis on tapping into the anger of parents over decisions by their local school boards is largely regarded as a blueprint of how to run campaigns in next year’s elections.

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Gowdy said that if Republicans could “coalesce around the why and avoid talking about issues that voters care nothing about, there may be more victories next fall. 

“Be mindful of the what, be mindful of the who,” he said, “but focus on the why.”

President of the National Border Patrol Council Brandon Judd asserted Sunday that the United States is now in the “biggest crisis we have ever seen” as it pertains to border security, arguing it’s because the Biden administration reversed all of former President Trump’s immigration policies. 

“Any time we release people into the United States pending a hearing that they’re [illegal immigrants] not going to show up to, we’re going to have tons of people cross our borders illegally,” Judd told “Fox News Live” on Sunday. 

“It’s that magnet that draws people here and as long as that magnet exists, people are going to continue to come.”

“If we hold people in custody, pending a deportation or asylum hearing, people stop coming,” he continued. “That was proven under the migrant protection protocols.” 

Judd then explained that the Biden administration “unfortunately did away with everything that President Trump did that was in fact beneficial to border security,” and, resultantly, opened the floodgates. “Now we’re in the biggest crisis we’ve ever seen as far as border security goes,” Judd asserted.

President Biden scrapped a number of his predecessor’s immigration policies, which included wall construction and having asylum seekers remain in Mexico instead of in the U.S. while they wait for their cases to be heard. The moves have led to a record surge in migrants, including unaccompanied minors, that has strained capacity at immigration facilities. 

Judd argued that there has been an “explosion” of illegal immigrants in the country “and it’s simply caused by Biden policies.”

Judd also argued on Sunday that President Biden has not been forthcoming to the American people. 

On Sunday, White House Senior Adviser Cedric Richmond would not confirm nor deny that the Biden administration would be making payments to illegal immigrants who were separated from their children under the Trump administration, but insisted that President Biden is up to speed on the situation despite seemingly contradictory comments on the subject.

On Wednesday, Biden had denied that a report about possible $450,000 payments to people separated from their families was real, leading the ACLU to claim that he “may not have been fully briefed” about what the Department of Justice was doing. On Saturday, the president came out in support of payments.

HARRIS, WHILE FINALLY VISITING THE BORDER, TOUTS ‘EXTREME PROGRESS’ IN TACKLING MIGRANT SURGE

“The president’s in the loop,” Richmond told “Fox News Sunday,” noting that Biden said all along that his Justice Department would be independent.

Biden’s claim that the payments were not real came in response to a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy, who asked whether they would incentivize illegal immigration.

“If you guys keep sending that garbage out, yeah. But it’s not true,” Biden responded. 

On Saturday, however, Biden said an immigrant – legal or illegal – would “deserve some sort of compensation no matter what the circumstances” if they were separated from their child.

“The dollar amount might be a little bit different, but the fact remains, they are in discussions for payments to these families and President Biden could have come out and he could have told the American public that and he didn’t,” Judd argued on Sunday. 

He went on to say that he’s “concerned with anything that this administration says right now simply because they haven’t been forthcoming.”

Judd said that that the administration has not disclosed how many people are being released into the United States, how many people are crossing the border illegally, or how many of those who are taken into custody have criminal records. 

“They’re not forthcoming with the American public and the American public has a right to know exactly what is happening — and until this administration is in fact forthcoming with all these things, we have reason to be skeptical on anything that they tell us as it pertains to border security,” Judd argued. 

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A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. 

Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report. 

Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly came out against President Biden’s vaccine mandate as one that is not the “most effective” or “correct” for her state. 

“Yesterday, I reviewed the new vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration. While I appreciate the intention to keep people safe, a goal I share, I don’t believe this directive is the correct, or the most effective, solution for Kansas,” she said in a statement released Friday. 

“States have been leading the fight against COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic. It is too late to impose a federal standard now that we have already developed systems and strategies that are tailored for our specific needs,” she continued. 

Biden directed all private companies with 100 employees or more to enforce a vaccine requirement starting Jan 4. 

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday, however, granted an emergency stay of the vaccine requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the action stops Biden “from moving forward with his unlawful overreach.”

“The president will not impose medical procedures on the American people without the checks and balances afforded by the constitution,” a statement from Landry, a Republican, said.

Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses was hit with fierce and immediate pushback earlier this year when it was first announced. 

Republicans hit back at the mandate when it was first announced in September as “unconstitutional.”

As for Kelly, she said she will “seek a resolution” on vaccine mandates that “continues to recognize the uniqueness of our state and builds on our on-going efforts to combat a once-in-a-century crisis.” 

Kelly is up for reelection next year. GOP challenger Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s campaign team hit back in a statement on Kelly’s remarks, saying she has remained quiet on Biden’s vaccine mandate for two months, while Schmidt has been fighting the mandate. 

“Attorney General Schmidt has been fighting Joe Biden’s mandates since the moment they were announced. After two months of silence, Laura Kelly has now voiced her concerns some 36 hours after her party suffered defeat in blue state Virginia – words accompanied by no action. Kansans are smart, and can see which candidate is acting on principle defending their livelihood and which is making a desperate political ploy to save her own job,” Schmidt’s campaign manager CJ Grover tweeted Friday. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.