Democrats bet on Trump in Virginia governor's race
Behind it all is the one supporting character common to both campaigns: President Donald Trump.
By KEVIN ROBILLARD 06/11/2017 06:56 AM EDT
Virginia’s Democratic primary on Tuesday is shaping up to be the first real test of liberalism in the Trump era, with both candidates lurching for increasingly leftward policies to position themselves in contrast with President Donald Trump.
Lt. Gov Ralph Northam has used TV ads to call Trump a “narcissistic maniac.” Former Rep. Tom Perriello has proclaimed Trump is an “authoritarian.” Both candidates have taken decidedly liberal positions on abortion, guns, criminal justice and college tuition — while using Trump bashing as a foundation of their campaigns. While Northam has the support of the Democratic establishment throughout Virginia and Perriello brings a potent Bernie Sanders endorsement to the Tuesday primary, the simmering question for the winner is how this race to the left in the Democratic primary — which may appeal to Northern Virginia Democrats — will play across the rest of the state in the general election.
Virginia's gubernatorial elections often develop into contrasts with a new president, but there's a stark difference between now and how Republican candidate Bob McDonnell handled then-President Barack Obama in 2009. While critical of the Obama's economic record, the future governor also regularly praised Obama for supporting school choice, straddling the partisan divide.
The Democrats have felt no need to do the same with the less popular Trump, whose approval rating was at 36 percent in a recent Washington Post-George Mason University poll of Virginia.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/11/virginia-governors-race-trump-democrats-239371
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