“(Gillespie’s) campaign is scaring people,” Northam said in an interview. “And it’s promoting the hatred and the bigotry that we’re seeing coming out of Washington.”


WASHINGTON — President Trump hasn’t hit the campaign trail in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, but his presence is clearly felt in the first competitive statewide contest since his election last year.

The Nov. 7 election battle between Virginia’s current Democratic lieutenant governor, Ralph Northam, and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie could be a bellwether for Trump’s impact on midterm elections across the country next year.

Northam held a narrow 4-point lead over Gillespie among likely Virginia voters who are either decided or leaning toward a candidate in a Suffolk University poll released Thursday. That lead is within the margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percentage points for the poll. Trump’s approval rating stands at 37% in the state and 63% of survey respondents said the country is on the wrong track, according to the poll.

Click to continue reading. By Nicole Gaudiano – Nov 4, 2017.