Reprinted from Associated Press – By ALAN SUDERMAN –
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s establishment-favored lieutenant governor won the Democratic nomination in the closely watched race for governor Tuesday, defeating a more liberal insurgent challenger in a contest to be one of the party’s standard-bearers against President Donald Trump.
Ralph Northam defeated former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, who ran as an unapologetic liberal crusader supported by prominent national Democrats like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as the best candidate to take on Trump.
The three-way Republican primary remains too close to call. The general election is expected to be an early referendum on the president and a preview of what the 2018 midterm elections will look like.
Northam, a low-key pediatric neurologist, won running as a pragmatist with state’s Democratic establishment’s firm support. He has also vowed to fight Trump, but with pledges to work with state Republican lawmakers on issues like a tax overhaul.
Virginia is one of only two states electing new governors this year, and the swing-state contest is likely to draw intense national scrutiny for signs of how voters are reacting to Trump’s first year in office.
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