Democrats earned two key gubernatorial wins on Tuesday in what the party is hoping to be a show of momentum.
Virginia Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam is projected by several outlets to defeat Republican challenger Ed Gillespie in a highly scrutinized race for Governor that was read as a potential measure of President Donald Trump’s influence. Northam will take over from term-limited Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
After the result, Trump took to Twitter to distance himself from Gillespie. According to Trump, Gillespie failed in not “embracing” the president enough. Trump’s grumbling is likely partially due to Gillespie not having Trump on the campaign trail.
Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for. Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2017
“Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for,” he tweeted. “Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!”
In New Jersey, Chris Christie’s replacement will be Garden State Democrat Phil Murphy who is projected to defeat Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. Christie’s status as America’s least-popular governor did the GOP no favors in retaining the position.
These two wins, Northam’s in particular, suggests that Democrats can push back in the era of Trump. While the current commander-in-chief blamed Gillespie for not embracing the Trump ethos, the campaign he ran frequently deployed Trump-like tactics and ad blitzes pushing fears about immigration and crime. Conversely, Northam’s campaign aligned Gillespie with Trump viewpoints. It’s not hard to imagine everything about this evening’s results will be analyzed to the finest detail as both Republicans and Democrats turn their attention to 2018.
Additionally, Democrats are picking up quite a few state rep seats across the state and making history as they do it.
Remember the local TV correspondent fatally shot on air? Her boyfriend decided to run for office in honor of her memory, and won an upset. https://t.co/9Hwmgj2SCE
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) November 8, 2017
Virginia just voted in their first two ever Latina State Representatives in their state's history. Democrats Elizabeth Guzman and Hala Ayala both defeated Republican incumbents tonight. #HistoricNight pic.twitter.com/hq1plniVBz
— Irvin Camacho (@IrvinCamachoAR) November 8, 2017