Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam defeated former Congressman Tom Perriello Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for governor in Virginia.
Northam led Perriello 55.7 percent 44.3 percent, with more than 50 percent of precincts reporting, when the race was called by the Associated Press.
The lieutenant governor is set to face either Ed Gillespie or Corey Stewart in the general election. The primary between Gillespie, the GOP Senate nominee in 2014, and Stewart, the Prince William County Council chairman, was too close to call more than an hour after the polls closed.
Northam, backed by outgoing Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the party establishment in Virginia, cruised to the nomination after facing an unexpected spirited primary challenge from Perriello. The former congressman, who served in President Barack Obama’s State Department, challenged the pragmatic Northam from the left, running under the progressive banner of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Democrats are expressing confidence about November. The party out of power in the White House has historically performed well in Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial contest, although that wasn’t the case for Republicans four years ago. Additionally, President Trump’s approval rating, 38.6 percent in the latest polling averages, could saddle Gillespie with extra baggage.
“What we’ve seen in Democratic primaries, is that it’s been a battle of who will fight back against Donald Trump the strongest,” said a Democratic operative monitoring the race. “As far as the general election, that works out alright for us in state where” his approvals are low.
The Republican Governors Asssociation took issue with that, and Northam’s centrist image.
“In choosing Ralph Northam, Virginia Democrats have anointed an extreme, far-left nominee that is hopelessly out-of-touch with Virginia voters,” said RGA Communications Director Jon Thompson said in a statement. “If elected, Northam would raise taxes, increase wasteful spending, hurt job and business growth, favor union bosses over workers, and make Virginia less affordable.”
Perriello led Northam in most recent polls; on Primary Day he held a slim lead in the averages of 2.3 percentage points. Still, Democratic insiders were predicting a narrow Northam victory throughout. The lieutenant governor was endorsed by the Washington Post, considered influential in Northern Virginia’s Washington, D.C., suburbs.
