Virginia’s Republican governor Glenn Youngkin was asked last week whether he would be joining the presidential campaign trail "this year." He answered, "No." A Youngkin aide later clarified that his boss was not ruling out a bid in 2024.

Virginia has legislative elections that will keep the governor at home during the next six months. But come November, Youngkin would still have time to enter the presidential contest before Iowa’s caucus in February.

In the current Republican field, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are blocking the point of entry. But what if Trump is indicted again, particularly for serious felonies? What if DeSantis keeps stumbling? What if Trump and DeSantis rip each other apart and one winds up not running? The "what ifs" could open the door for a new face, especially if that new face is a self-funder who is ideologically positioned to unite the party.

In 2020, after a successful private sector career, Youngkin launched an initiative to provide job training for unemployed Virginians. The next year, he ran for governor. Youngkin defeated six candidates for the Republican nomination. In the general election, he faced Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor and national chairman of the Democratic Party. With years of experience, McAuliffe was no slouch at money-raising. But Youngkin’s personal wealth, estimated at nearly $500 million, enabled him to keep up with McAuliffe’s prolific fundraising machine.

Endorsed by Trump, who lost Virginia in both 2016 and 2020, Youngkin kept his distance from the former president. By localizing the race, Youngkin moved the discussion away from Trump’s controversies toward state issues that favored his own underdog candidacy.

Youngkin’s big break came on the issue of education. McAuliffe, who had vetoed a bill as governor that would have mandated schools inform parents about sexually explicit content in educational materials, defended his position by saying, "I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." Youngkin took the issue and ran with it.

Youngkin won by two points in a state that Biden carried by 10 points the year before; it was a significant Republican win. By capturing suburban swing voters who don’t usually vote Republican, Youngkin built a new model for his party in tough races. Youngkin may be moderate in temperament and tone, but his issue agenda is solidly conservative, one that would appeal to his party’s nationwide base.

After only 16 months on the job, his accomplishments as governor are a work in progress. Moreover, Virginia’s Senate is controlled by Democrats and the House has only a thin GOP majority. This means that Youngkin has to fight for everything he wants from the legislature, a big obstacle that Republican governors in red states, such as DeSantis in Florida, don’t have.

Conventional wisdom says Trump will win the 2024 nomination. But conventional wisdom is not always right. Just ask Presidents Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Rick Perry, and Jeb Bush.

Youngkin wants to be president, but the 2024 election timetable may not work out for him. Waiting for an opportunity to jump in, especially in a campaign that's underway, is always chancy. He also lacks nationwide name recognition.

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But if Youngkin parachutes into the presidential race at just the right time — when Republicans are exhausted by the Trump vs. DeSantis fight and fearful that their general election chances may be slipping away — it’s possible that the Virginia governor, who arguably would have the best chance to beat the Democrats, would have a shot at the nomination.

Crazier things have happened.

Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer. He authored Running for Office and publishes  LunchtimePolitics.com , a nationwide newsletter on polls and public opinion.