The Commonwealth of Virginia has only elected one Republican governor in this century. On Tuesday Ed Gillespie hopes to double that figure. The affable former Republican National Committee chairman faces off this week against incumbent Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam in the only competitive gubernatorial race of 2017.
While the focus of the nation has remained on national politics and the White House, Gillespie has deftly crisscrossed the state talking about his many in-depth policy proposals that vary widely from cutting the state income tax rate to pushing for affordable flood insurance. Gillespie has spent much time in often overlooked parts of Virginia and still been able to appeal to voters in deep blue northern Virginia by talking about curbing violent gang crime, and hitting Northam on McAuliffe’s mishandled attempt to restore voting rights to tens of thousands of felons.
Wherever in the Commonwealth Gillespie travels, he is able to hone in on what voters there are interested in. He seems to know as much about things like local budget restraints facing the far-flung corners of Virginia as do life-long residents of those localities.
In a state where Donald Trump lost to Hillary Clinton by over 5 percentage points and where incumbent Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe enjoys a relatively high approval rating, Northam was the favorite to cruise to victory this year. The final stretch of the election has shown Gillespie surging in the polls to a near tie with Northam. If Gillespie is able to pull off an upset it will be a signal that Republicans can still win in Virginia even when the odds are stacked against them, provided they have the right candidate with the right message.
Whether Gillespie wins or loses, the race was never supposed to be this competitive. Gillespie’s campaign has shown Virginia Republicans the way to remain in contention in a state that is slowly moving from purple to blue on election maps.
Wes Fisher is a Virginia native and has been active in Republican politics in Virginia for many years, working or volunteering on many campaigns spanning from City Council to Presidential.
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