One question that will get answered after the Virginia governor election is whether or not President Trump did more to help or to hurt Ed Gillespie. A liability and an ally, Trump has been just as likely to help as to harm the Republican. Doing his best to help this morning, Trump stepped on a nasty rake.
Tweeting all the normal stuff about how Ralph Northam is soft on crime and bad on the economy, Trump slammed the Democrat with caps lock for being “weak on OUR GREAT VETS.”
Northam served eight years in the Army Medical Corps, most notably treating casualties of Desert Storm.
Ralph Northam will allow crime to be rampant in Virginia. He’s weak on crime, weak on our GREAT VETS, Anti-Second Amendment….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2017
That’s more of a gaffe than a serious lapse. But what Trump voters will easily overlook as they head to the polls for Gillespie, moderates might notice and take pause. It’s the perfect illustration of the gamble Gillespie has been forced to make. Can he take the good of Trump with the bad of Trump and emerge all right Wednesday morning?
So far Gillespie has managed to adopt Trumpian talking points on immigration and crime while sidestepping the Trump endorsement. In theory, this should allow the Chamber of Commerce candidate to attract the base without alienating moderate party voters. And it seems to be working for Gillespie. He has kept this race closer than anyone expected, and definitely seems to have the momentum going into Election Day.
Obviously, a Gillespie win doesn’t immediately mean another red November in 2018. But it does offer a template for moderates looking for a win during the midterms.
