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| Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie Beat Upstart Challengers in Virginia Governor Primaries | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ARLINGTON, Va. — Ralph Northam, Virginia’s lieutenant governor, fended off an upstart challenger to capture the Democratic nomination in the state’s race for governor on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. He will face Ed Gillespie, who survived a scare in the Republican race, in a November clash that may test how much of a burden President Trump is among moderate voters, who are deeply contemptuous of the president. | |
| Mr. Northam defeated Tom Perriello, a former congressman, who entered the race unexpectedly at the start of the year and mounted an aggressive insurgent campaign that upset the state’s Democratic establishment. | Mr. Northam defeated Tom Perriello, a former congressman, who entered the race unexpectedly at the start of the year and mounted an aggressive insurgent campaign that upset the state’s Democratic establishment. |
| But the threat roused Mr. Northam, 57, a mild-mannered physician. He amplified his rhetoric against Mr. Trump, calling the president “a narcissistic maniac.” And he effectively harnessed the support of every statewide elected Democrat, won a handful of other influential endorsements and spent millions on television ads to repel Mr. Perriello. | But the threat roused Mr. Northam, 57, a mild-mannered physician. He amplified his rhetoric against Mr. Trump, calling the president “a narcissistic maniac.” And he effectively harnessed the support of every statewide elected Democrat, won a handful of other influential endorsements and spent millions on television ads to repel Mr. Perriello. |
| The Republican race was overshadowed by the intensity of the Democratic contest. But Mr. Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, had faced a serious challenge from Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Emulating Mr. Trump’s incendiary style by railing against political correctness and vowing to protect the state’s Confederate monuments, Mr. Stewart defeated Mr. Gillespie in a number of rural counties. | |
| The Republican race, which also included State Senator Frank Wagner, illustrated the party’s dilemma: how to handle a president who remains broadly popular on the right but is politically toxic among the broader electorate in Virginia, the only Southern state carried by Hillary Clinton. | The Republican race, which also included State Senator Frank Wagner, illustrated the party’s dilemma: how to handle a president who remains broadly popular on the right but is politically toxic among the broader electorate in Virginia, the only Southern state carried by Hillary Clinton. |
| Mr. Stewart embraced the president and assailed Mr. Gillespie in harsh terms, much as Mr. Trump did to his rivals in last year’s Republican primary. Mr. Gillespie kept his distance from Mr. Trump, rarely saying his name and, when pressed by Mr. Stewart, saying only that he had supported the party’s “ticket” in 2016. | Mr. Stewart embraced the president and assailed Mr. Gillespie in harsh terms, much as Mr. Trump did to his rivals in last year’s Republican primary. Mr. Gillespie kept his distance from Mr. Trump, rarely saying his name and, when pressed by Mr. Stewart, saying only that he had supported the party’s “ticket” in 2016. |
| Mr. Northam begins the race with an advantage thanks in large part to Mr. Trump. Nearly 60 percent of Virginia independents disapprove of Mr. Trump, according to a Washington Post poll last month. Virginia is increasingly diverse, especially in its vote-rich urban crescent from the Washington suburbs to Hampton Roads, and it has been drifting away from the Republicans, who have not won a statewide election here since 2009. | Mr. Northam begins the race with an advantage thanks in large part to Mr. Trump. Nearly 60 percent of Virginia independents disapprove of Mr. Trump, according to a Washington Post poll last month. Virginia is increasingly diverse, especially in its vote-rich urban crescent from the Washington suburbs to Hampton Roads, and it has been drifting away from the Republicans, who have not won a statewide election here since 2009. |
| Mr. Trump has widened the political gulf in a state that was already culturally cleaved among Appalachia, the traditional South and the fast-growing mid-Atlantic. The Republican nominee will have to try to create a coalition that melds pro-Trump rural conservatives with anti-Trump suburbanites. | Mr. Trump has widened the political gulf in a state that was already culturally cleaved among Appalachia, the traditional South and the fast-growing mid-Atlantic. The Republican nominee will have to try to create a coalition that melds pro-Trump rural conservatives with anti-Trump suburbanites. |
| Democrats here are plainly energized about sending a message to Mr. Trump: Turnout spiked from the last time they had a contested primary for governor. After Mr. Perriello, 42, entered the race with slashing speeches against the president, Mr. Northam saw how voters were responding and began speaking out more fiercely. By the end of the campaign, both Democrats were airing commercials attacking Mr. Trump. Now, some Republicans fear that Mr. Northam, an Army veteran from the state’s Eastern Shore, could be difficult to attack as a dogmatic liberal. | Democrats here are plainly energized about sending a message to Mr. Trump: Turnout spiked from the last time they had a contested primary for governor. After Mr. Perriello, 42, entered the race with slashing speeches against the president, Mr. Northam saw how voters were responding and began speaking out more fiercely. By the end of the campaign, both Democrats were airing commercials attacking Mr. Trump. Now, some Republicans fear that Mr. Northam, an Army veteran from the state’s Eastern Shore, could be difficult to attack as a dogmatic liberal. |
| His primary victory was a sign that institutional advantages still matter in an increasingly diffuse political era, at least in a statewide election. | His primary victory was a sign that institutional advantages still matter in an increasingly diffuse political era, at least in a statewide election. |
| He was joined on the final weekend before the election by a trio of popular Virginia Democrats: Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. He had the support of every Democrat in the state’s General Assembly, raised more money than Mr. Perriello and outspent him on television in the race’s last weeks. | He was joined on the final weekend before the election by a trio of popular Virginia Democrats: Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. He had the support of every Democrat in the state’s General Assembly, raised more money than Mr. Perriello and outspent him on television in the race’s last weeks. |
| But some Democratic voters here shrugged off those traditional signs of strength. They preferred Mr. Perriello’s blistering anti-Trump rhetoric, unapologetically liberal politics and stamp of approval from two of the country’s most prominent progressives, Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. | But some Democratic voters here shrugged off those traditional signs of strength. They preferred Mr. Perriello’s blistering anti-Trump rhetoric, unapologetically liberal politics and stamp of approval from two of the country’s most prominent progressives, Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. |
| There was not supposed to be a Democratic race here at all. Mr. McAuliffe, who by state law cannot run for re-election, and every other elected Democrat in the state rallied behind Mr. Northam last year. | There was not supposed to be a Democratic race here at all. Mr. McAuliffe, who by state law cannot run for re-election, and every other elected Democrat in the state rallied behind Mr. Northam last year. |
| But after Mr. Trump’s election, Mr. Perriello, who lost his seat in the House in 2010 and worked for the State Department under President Barack Obama, stunned Virginia’s political establishment by declaring his candidacy. He focused his gaze more on Washington than on Richmond, the state capital, seeming to seize on every controversy facing the Trump administration and eventually calling for the president’s impeachment. | But after Mr. Trump’s election, Mr. Perriello, who lost his seat in the House in 2010 and worked for the State Department under President Barack Obama, stunned Virginia’s political establishment by declaring his candidacy. He focused his gaze more on Washington than on Richmond, the state capital, seeming to seize on every controversy facing the Trump administration and eventually calling for the president’s impeachment. |
| Mr. Perriello’s steady focus on Mr. Trump unsettled some of the more cautious Democrats in Virginia, but it won him attention and money beyond the state’s borders. | Mr. Perriello’s steady focus on Mr. Trump unsettled some of the more cautious Democrats in Virginia, but it won him attention and money beyond the state’s borders. |
| Stirred by the threat of losing a nomination he thought was his, Mr. Northam pivoted from stockpiling money from Virginia’s business community to wooing the left. He courted African-American voters, who appeared to strongly support him on Tuesday, and engaged in a back-channel campaign to ensure Mr. Obama’s neutrality in the race. | Stirred by the threat of losing a nomination he thought was his, Mr. Northam pivoted from stockpiling money from Virginia’s business community to wooing the left. He courted African-American voters, who appeared to strongly support him on Tuesday, and engaged in a back-channel campaign to ensure Mr. Obama’s neutrality in the race. |
| Mr. Northam called Eric H. Holder Jr., Mr. Obama’s friend and former attorney general, to note that he had supported Mr. Obama’s candidacy in another hotly contested Democratic primary here: his 2008 race for the presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton. | Mr. Northam called Eric H. Holder Jr., Mr. Obama’s friend and former attorney general, to note that he had supported Mr. Obama’s candidacy in another hotly contested Democratic primary here: his 2008 race for the presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton. |