In Backlash To Trump, Democrat Ralph Northam Wins Virginia Governor's Race
Democrat Ralph Northam has easily won the Virginia governor's race, defeating Republican Ed Gillespie in a stinging rebuke to President Trump.
The surprisingly early call in what was expected to be a much closer contest portended a very good night for Democrats in the Old Dominion and across the country. And one year after the 2016 presidential contest, Democrats finally got a signature victory after long boasting of rising opposition to Trump that hadn't paid off with wins in other high-profile races this year.
Polls in the final days had predicted a close race in Virginia, but ultimately Northam, the incumbent lieutenant governor, successfully rode an anti-Trump wave to victory over Gillespie's hard-line message on immigration and social issues. With nearly all votes in, Northam was besting Gillespie by about 9 points, higher than Hillary Clinton's 5-point win just last November.
Virginia Democrats also elected Justin Fairfax as lieutenant governor — just the second African-American elected to statewide office since Reconstruction — and re-elected Mark Herring as attorney general.
https://www.npr.org/2017/11/07/562348581/election-night-2017-close-virginia-governors-race-could-offer-midterm-clues