# 2017 Virginia Gov. race: Gillespie (R) vs. Northam (D) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 14, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920 "2017-06-14T02:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/1 "2017-06-14T02:52:46Z")
[AP story here](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOVERNORS_RACE_VIRGINIA_THE_LATEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-06-13-22-30-34). Sounds like Mr. Gillespie barely got the nom despite lots of money and many endorsement (and despite avoiding anything Trumpian). I’d like to thankfully note that the man he beat for the nom, Corey Stewart, campaigned largely on the promise to preserve the state’s racist & secessionist history (fuck him & fuck that). Mr. Northam beat out former congressman Tom Perriello despite Mr. Perriello being endorsed by both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Virginians: what do you think about these guys? What should the rest of the country know about this election contest? Everyone else: what do you think of this election race? Can this reasonably be looked at as a possible future indicator of what 2018 may bring? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/2 "2017-06-14T03:30:10Z")
Yet another candidate backed by Sanders loses, and it wasn’t even close. It’s an off off year election. Virginia has often gone the opposite party after a presidential election, so I guess there’s a mild correlation with the upcoming 2018 mid terms since the President’s party often loses seats. It’ll be nice for the Dems to retain the Governor’s mansion since the state senate is pretty much split and the Republicans have an overwhelming majority in the House of Delegates Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/3 "2017-06-18T14:40:25Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Virginia has often gone the opposite party after a presidential election Almost always, really. Terry McAuliffe was the first VA-Gov candidate of the President’s party to win in roughly forever. Speaking of McAuliffe, a few days after he won, [I described him here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16833915&postcount=100) as “a faceless, soulless, unprincipled corporate hack with minimal ties to the state he was running in.” Sometimes, you’re very, very glad to have been proven wrong. 🙂 > [@](#): > > It’ll be nice for the Dems to retain the Governor’s mansion since the state senate is pretty much split and the Republicans have an overwhelming majority in the House of Delegates It looks to me like the House of Delegates is where the real action is this year. There are Dem candidates for 87 out of 100 seats. It’s been decades since they’ve had candidates for more than 70 seats. I don’t think they can recapture the House of Delegates (though I’d be glad to be proven wrong on that, too!), but I think their prospects are good for making a serious dent in the size of the GOP majority. ---
**Author:** ![Melcalc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melcalc/32/468_2.png) [@Melcalc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melcalc)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/4 "2017-06-18T16:11:49Z")
There seems to be a substantial amount of excitement on flipping the House of Delegates, but it doesn’t look likely. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/5 "2017-06-18T18:10:55Z")
One remarkable stat, Northam got almost 304,000 votes, that’s almost more than Gillespie (160,000) and Stewart (156,000). That is excellent Democratic turnout in an off off year primary. > **[Virginia election results 2017: Live maps, analysis, complete updates](https://www.washingtonpost.com/2017-primary-election-results/virginia/?utm_term=.9bd8734d788f)** > > Your one stop for the latest on the Virginia races, including the latest news and political analysis on the race for governor. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/6 "2017-06-18T19:31:22Z")
I liked both Perriello and Northam. I voted for Perriello but I will happily support Northam against Gillespie. I was very pleased to see that Democratic turnout in the primary was something like 50% higher than Republican turnout. Virginia is fast becoming a solidly blue state. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/7 "2017-06-19T09:04:03Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Virginia is fast becoming a solidly blue state. I’ll be more comfortable with that notion when the state legislature has Dem majorities. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/8 "2017-06-19T12:13:12Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’ll be more comfortable with that notion when the state legislature has Dem majorities. True; it’s funny how total partisan advantage statewide doesn’t translate to more legislative seats, at least at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/9 "2017-06-25T18:35:35Z")
[The latest polling I found shows Mr. Northam ahead of Mr. Gillespie: > [@](#): > > Northam was favored by 47 percent and Gillespie 39 percent in the telephone survey by Quinnipiac University taken in the days following the June 13 primaries. > > Nine percent wouldn’t say or didn’t know who they would support in the Nov. 7 general election, 2 percent wanted another candidate, and 2 percent said they weren’t going to vote. The survey taken June 15-20 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. ]([https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/northam-leads-gillespie-in-governor-election-poll/article\_5ca6fb03-afdd-57a5-af6b-f14e51f316b8.html](https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/northam-leads-gillespie-in-governor-election-poll/article_5ca6fb03-afdd-57a5-af6b-f14e51f316b8.html))With the current Congress eager to show that they can can something (anything) done by passing some sort of health care bill, this may be something that helps or hurts them in this election: > [@](#): > > he economy and health care were the two issues that voters said will most affect how they cast their ballots, the poll found. Roughly one of every three voters named one of the two issues as their top concern. Smaller numbers of voters said they were more interested in education, taxes or immigration. > > Those surveyed were split when asked which candidate would do a better job on those issues. Gillespie ranked higher on handling the economy and taxes, while Northam was viewed as more effective on health care, education and immigration. 7 November is still a long ways off; lots could happen between now and then. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/10 "2017-06-26T01:00:39Z")
For a Republican Gillespie seems like a fairly decent guy. Bet he’s gonna get squeezed by the trumplodytes big time, perhaps even fatally (from a political standpoint, I mean). ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/11 "2017-06-26T03:54:33Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [The latest polling I found shows Mr. Northam ahead of Mr. Gillespie:](https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/northam-leads-gillespie-in-governor-election-poll/article_5ca6fb03-afdd-57a5-af6b-f14e51f316b8.html)With the current Congress eager to show that they can can something (anything) done by passing some sort of health care bill, this may be something that helps or hurts them in this election:7 November is still a long ways off; lots could happen between now and then. The thing to keep in mind is that at the primaries about twice as many Democrats turned out to vote as Republicans did. I could be wrong, but I also believe the guy Gillespie beat by a hair has yet to endorse him. If I am wrong, please correct me. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/12 "2017-06-26T05:46:36Z")
You are correct, **Ibn Warraq**. As of now, Mr. Stewart has not publicly endorsed Mr. Gillespie. And [his campaign website currently says > [@Corey Stewart](#): > > We lost the battle, but not the war. If you want the fight to continue, and you want to be the first to hear about our next steps, sign up below. ]([http://www.coreystewart.com](http://www.coreystewart.com)) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/13 "2017-10-06T12:15:16Z")
Predictably, [Trump has now publicly supported Mr. Gillespie](https://apnews.com/a250ea777d214634ac2bc8a34400a376/In-Virginia-gov's-race,-Trump-tweets-support-for-Gillespie). > [@](#): > > Trump attacked Democrat Ralph Northam on immigration issues in a tweet late Thursday, accusing Northam of “fighting” on behalf of violent MS-13 gang members. Trump urged Virginians to vote for Republican Ed Gillespie. > > Gillespie — a consummate Washington insider — has sought to keep Trump at arm’s length throughout the campaign while also trying to rally Trump supporters with hard-edged attacks on Northam over immigration. [Here’s the tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/916120435762266114): > [@](#): > > Ralph Northam,who is running for Governor of Virginia,is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie! I love that MS-13 are not just a gang, not just a violent gang, but a violent _killer_ gang. I assume he’d have used more descriptors but he hit the character limit. Anyway, [the Washington Post reports that Northam has a “clear lead”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/democrat-northam-leads-republican-gillespie-in-race-for-virginia-governor/2017/10/04/a62425e6-a78e-11e7-b3aa-c0e2e1d41e38_story.html?utm_term=.3478a9527819): > [@](#): > > A relatively unified party base gives Democrat Ralph Northam a clear lead over Republican Ed Gillespie heading into the final month of the Virginia governor’s race, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll. > > Northam leads Gillespie by 53 percent to 40 percent among likely voters, with 4 percent supporting Libertarian Cliff Hyra. The advantage is similar to a Post-Schar School poll this spring but larger than in other public polls of likely voters released over the past month, most of which found Northam up by single digits. > > But the race is still fluid, with a sizable number of likely voters — 1 in 4 — saying they could change their minds before Nov. 7. [RealClearPolitics backs this up with other polls](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2017/governor/va/virginia_governor_gillespie_vs_northam-6197.html) tho none show quite as large a lead as the WaPo poll. Is Trump’s support likely to have any effect on this race, or is it gonna be Luther Strange part 2? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/14 "2017-10-06T12:23:16Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Predictably, [Trump has now publicly supported Mr. Gillespie](https://apnews.com/a250ea777d214634ac2bc8a34400a376/In-Virginia-gov's-race,-Trump-tweets-support-for-Gillespie).[Here’s the tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/916120435762266114):I love that MS-13 are not just a gang, not just a violent gang, but a violent _killer_ gang. I assume he’d have used more descriptors but he hit the character limit. > > Anyway, [the Washington Post reports that Northam has a “clear lead”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/democrat-northam-leads-republican-gillespie-in-race-for-virginia-governor/2017/10/04/a62425e6-a78e-11e7-b3aa-c0e2e1d41e38_story.html?utm_term=.3478a9527819):[RealClearPolitics backs this up with other polls](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2017/governor/va/virginia_governor_gillespie_vs_northam-6197.html) tho none show quite as large a lead as the WaPo poll. > > Is Trump’s support likely to have any effect on this race, or is it gonna be Luther Strange part 2? There’s a little more at stake here given that this is a primary, but even if Trump loses, he can say it was a blue state before and it’s a blue state now. The real test is how Trump-backed GOP candidates fare in districts that the GOP won in 2016 but were competitive. If those flip, it would be a warning sign for Trump and his brand of politics. Some pundits have posted that this might be like the 2006 election, when middler voters shifted overwhelmingly to the left out of disgust over the Iraq war and the growing scandals list (Mark Foley, etc). I’m not entirely convinced. The center was stronger then than it is now. Bernie voters could fracture the left and make it a weaker opposition and still cause the Dems to lose in spite of a weakened GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/15 "2017-10-06T12:23:33Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > You are correct, **Ibn Warraq**. As of now, Mr. Stewart has not publicly endorsed Mr. Gillespie. And [his campaign website currently says](http://www.coreystewart.com) I wanted to follow up on this:[‘Mini-Trump’ Corey Stewart Loves Confederate Statues, and Jamming Up Republican Ed Gillespie](https://www.thedailybeast.com/mini-trump-corey-stewart-loves-confederate-statues-and-jamming-up-republican-ed-gillespie) > [@](#): > > Corey Stewart is Ed Gillespie’s worst nightmare—a visible reminder to voters of the part of Gillespie’s Republican Party that the former GOP chairman wishes voters didn’t see. > [@](#): > > Now he’s using his narrow loss and his new platform to bedevil Gillespie, and to set the stage for a Senate run in 2018. > > He has yet to endorse Gillespie, telling The Daily Beast, “I’m no longer a believer in politicians endorsing other politicians. It’s a two-edged sword. Gillespie doesn’t necessarily want to inherit all my views,” and the feeling is mutual, he says. He’ll vote for Gillespie and encourage his supporters to do the same, but he’s pretty tepid. > [@](#): > > He thinks the effort to remove Confederate monuments resonates “not just with conservative Republicans and Caucasians, but with people across the board. Ed should capitalize on it a lot more,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday. Gillespie has tried to strike a moderate tone, condemning the so-called alt-right while saying the statues “should stay right where they are and we should teach history—not erase it.” > > At Stewart rallies, supporters would display the Confederate flag. “I’m not offended by it, it’s an historical symbol,” he says, adding, “I don’t fly one, I don’t own one.” What he’s opposed to, he says, is political correctness, a catchall phrase that for Stewart and his supporters justifies a range of behaviors that wouldn’t otherwise be condoned. > > “Mini Trump” is how Stewart’s critics characterize him. > [@](#): > > Asked if he’s pushing Gillespie to the right, Stewart said, “I’m trying to.” Gillespie has hired Jack Morgan, an associate pastor at Real Life Ministries in Wytheville, Virginia, who calls the effort to remove Confederate monuments the product of “crazy leftists, some socialists, but a whole lot of communists too.” > “Jack and I are very close,” says Stewart. > [@](#): > > Stewart has set his sights on Democrat Tim Kaine’s seat in Virginia next year, a long shot considering how popular Kaine remains in the state even after joining Hillary Clinton on the Democrats’ losing presidential ticket. They saved the money quote for the end tho: > [@](#): > > “I think he sees this as part of a game,” political scientist Sabato says of Stewart. “I don’t think that he’s motivated to get out of bed in the morning to preserve confederate symbols. He was looking for an opening for a long shot candidacy, and he found it—and now he’s on to something.” ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/16 "2017-10-06T13:01:01Z")
The one term limit for Virginia governors is idiotic. Where does Terry McAuliffe go from here? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/17 "2017-10-06T13:59:05Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > The one term limit for Virginia governors is idiotic. Where does Terry McAuliffe go from here? One of the more boring Cabinet positions (HUD, Interior, Commerce, etc.) for the next Democratic President, a backup VA Senate candidate, and a break-in-emergency VP pick. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/18 "2017-10-06T14:22:18Z")
I haven’t been following the race, but I assume if Clinton was able to win the state, which also has two Democratic senators, then a Democrat who isn’t as polarizing as Clinton should be able to win a statewide election. Hopefully this logic isn’t proven wrong on Election Day. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/19 "2017-10-06T15:06:29Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Predictably, [Trump has now publicly supported Mr. Gillespie](https://apnews.com/a250ea777d214634ac2bc8a34400a376/In-Virginia-gov's-race,-Trump-tweets-support-for-Gillespie).[Here’s the tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/916120435762266114):I love that MS-13 are not just a gang, not just a violent gang, but a violent _killer_ gang. I assume he’d have used more descriptors but he hit the character limit. MS-13 is a violent gang with dogs with bees in their mouth and when they bark they shoot bees at you. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/20 "2017-10-06T16:39:25Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > The one term limit for Virginia governors is idiotic. Where does Terry McAuliffe go from here? He could run for governor again in 2021 or later, he just can’t succeed himself. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920.md?page=2)