Democrat Wins Virginia Governorship in Race Where Trump Loomed

by Dramelin 11:00 PM 0 comments

Ralph Northam answers questions while campaigning at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society following Friday prayers, on Nov.
3, in Sterling, Virginia.
  Democrat Ralph Northam will be the next governor of Virginia, AP and NBC News project, notching a victory in a state Hillary Clinton carried in 2016 that was seen as a key barometer of whether Democrats could win in crucial swing states ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
The closely-watched state race took on national implications in closing weeks, as Republican Ed Gillespie channeled President Donald Trump in advertisements decrying NFL players who kneel in protest during the national anthem and warning of Latino gangs going unchecked in sanctuary cities.
Gillespie opposed the removal of Confederate monuments in a state that served as the seat of the breakaway states over 150 years before.
"Donald Trump will get rejected," Gov.
Terry McAuliffe told CNN in an interview after polls closed but before the result was finalized, adding that the campaign Gillespie ran wouldn’t work in the commonwealth and won’t work across the U.
in future elections.
Northam received 52 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Gillespie with 63 percent of precincts reporting, according to data compiled by the Associated Press.
Down-ballot races for lieutenant governor and attorney general were running closer and had yet to be called.
Trump, whose approval rating in Virginia hovers in the 30s, never campaigned in person for Gillespie.
Instead, the president’s support came mostly on Twitter as other Republicans from Mike Pence to Marco Rubio went to the commonwealth to campaign.
In the waning moments of the race, Trump recorded a call to voters on Gillespie’s behalf.
Hillary Clinton carried Virginia by five percentage points and the governor’s race started solidly in Northam’s corner.
Polls started showing a tighening runoff in closing weeks as Gillespie took a rightward tone in an attempt to woo Trump’s supporters.
Instead, Northam’s win will raise confidence for Democrats looking ahead to the 2018 midterm elections, where House and Senate control will be at stake.