Virginia gubernatorial election, 2017

Virginia gubernatorial election

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Governor of Virginia

Filing deadline: March 30, 2017

Primary date: June 13, 2017

General election date: November 7, 2017

Incumbent prior to election: Terry McAuliffe (D)

State executive offices

State legislature

Democratic trifecta

Divided government

Virginia State Executive Elections Top Ballot Governor • Lt. Governor • Attorney General Down Ballot None

The winner in this race was Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D). Click here to view vote totals for this election. Virginia held an election for governor on November 7, 2017. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D), former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie (R), and patent attorney Cliff Hyra (L) ran for the open seat. The most recent overall race rating from five separate outlets was Lean Democrat. Virginia law requires that voters register 22 days in advance of an election, meaning that the final day to register to vote in this election was October 16, 2017.

On this page, you will find an overview of the three candidates that were running for governor and their stances on the major issues facing the state, as well as the endorsements they earned. This is followed by information on polling, campaign finance, and race ratings. At the bottom of the page, information on past elections and Virginia's political climate are provided to contextualize the election.

As winner of the election, Northam will preside over the state's redistricting following the 2020 census and will have the ability to veto proposed district maps. To see information about the June 13 primary election in this race, click here.

HIGHLIGHTS

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) was ineligible for re-election due to term limits.

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) defeated former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie (R) and patent attorney Cliff Hyra (Lib.) in the November general election.

Alongside Mark Herring's victory in the attorney general election, Northam's victory maintained the state's Democratic triplex.

Candidates

The following candidates appeared on the ballot in the November 7, 2017, general election.

Ralph Northam (D)
Lieutenant governor of Virginia since 2014

At the time of the election, Ralph Northam had served as the Democratic lieutenant governor of Virginia since his election in 2013. Northam won the Democratic primary election on June 13, 2017, defeating Tom Perriello by an eleven percent margin.

Ed Gillespie (R)
Political consultant, former Republican National Committee chairman

Ed Gillespie is a political consultant and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. He declared his candidacy on November 21, 2016, and won the Republican primary election on June 13, 2017, defeating Corey Stewart and Frank Wagner by a one percent margin. Gillespie ran in 2014 for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Cliff Hyra (Lib.)
Patent attorney

Cliff Hyra is a patent attorney who was nominated by the Libertarian Party as their candidate for governor on May 6, 2017.

Virginia Gubernatorial Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ralph Northam	53.86%	1,405,041
	Republican	Ed Gillespie	44.98%	1,173,326
	Libertarian	Cliff Hyra	1.16%	30,241
Total Votes (2566/2566 precincts reporting)				2,608,608
Source: The New York Times, "Live Election Results: Virginia," November 7, 2017

Click [show] to see candidates who were defeated in the primary elections.
Tom Perriello (D) Representative for Virginia's 5th Congressional district, 2009-2011 Corey Stewart (R) Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors since 2007 Frank Wagner (R) Member of the Virginia State Senate representing District 7 since 2002

Policies and endorsements

Issues

Click here to view campaign advertisements for this race
The following tables provide side-by-side comparisons of policy statements taken from the policy pages of each candidate's campaign website and from various media appearances. Among Northam's major policy proposals were modifications to the state's criminal justice system and opposition to proposed policies of President Trump. Ed Gillespie's major proposals included modifications to the state's tax code and government operating policies. Click [show] to see each of the related issues.

Position summaries for gubernatorial candidates - Budgetary and Government Management
Issue	Ralph Northam	Ed Gillespie
Budgeting	Voted for $4.6 billion spending cut to ensure a balanced budget Voted in favor of tax reductions for homeowners Supports a complete audit of the state's spending	Supports the creation of a Commonwealth Solutions Center charged with identifying $200 million in savings over the course of four years Supports the signing of an executive order mandating the use of evidence-based policymaking Supports the implementation of a zero-based budgeting process, requiring all spending to be justified at least once every ten years Supports the implementation of a pay for success financing model, requiring the impact of programs to be measured before they are implemented at full scale Supports the creation of a high risk list of agencies that are prone to inefficient or improper spending
Rural broadband	Supports universal access to broadband Supports the consolidation of rural broadband initiatives under a single Cabinet agency	Supports increased funding for the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative Supports ordering the state Secretary of Technology to secure federal funding for the development of rural broadband Supports the consolidation of rural broadband development efforts under the joint leadership of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the Secretary of Technology Supports looser regulations for broadband providers
Redistricting	Voted in favor of redistricting reform Supports creating a nonpartisan commission to draw legislative and congressional districts Calls for a veto of any district maps which show signs of gerrymandering
Tax policy	Supports grocery tax exemptions for low-income families Supports the introduction of a two-year merchant's capital and Business, Professional, and Occupational Licensing tax exemption for small businesses in rural areas	Supports a 10% cut to the individual income tax over a three-year period Supports modifications to local tax structure: Supports a three-year phase-out of the Business and Professional Occupancy License Tax, the Machinery & Tools Tax, and the Merchant's Capital Tax Supports developing a selection of options for local governments to choose from, which would not include a local income tax Supports requiring tax changes on the part of local governments to be revenue-neutral Supports the convening of a September 2018 session of the Virginia General Assembly to determine a new tax structure Supports the establishment of a cabinet-level office to oversee changes to the state's tax structure
Government policies	Supports banning corporate contributions to campaigns Supports a $10,000 contribution limit which would apply to all except party committees Supports requiring that nonprofits operating in elections report their donors Calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to override the results of Citizens United v. FEC Supports barring candidates from using campaign funds for personal purposes Supports the elimination of unrecorded voice votes in the Virginia General Assembly Supports public access to video recordings and live streams of General Assembly proceedings	Supports prohibiting personal use of campaign funds, or use of campaign funds to run for a different office Supports increasing the length of time former officials must wait before becoming lobbyists Supports barring lobbyists from lobbying boards or commissions they are members of Supports the scheduling of office hours once per quarter Supports requiring agencies to produce plans to increase the access of watchdog organizations Supports the livestreaming of agency, board, commission, and Cabinet meetings Supports prohibitions on gifts to elected and appointed officials and to family members of the governor Supports increased use of automation in state government
State workforce		Supports a requirement that for every 100 retirements from state government, five positions must be consolidated or eliminated rather than refilled Supports a pilot program intended to bring millennials into state government
Licensing and business regulations		Supports overhauling the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs into an Office of Federalism, charged with proposing regulatory changes to the federal government Supports a policy requiring two regulations to be modified or eliminated for every one added Supports changes to the regulatory adoption process to require additional economic analysis and opportunities for public comment Supports comparison of the state's professional licensing procedures with other states' procedures Supports the establishment of a Small Business Cabinet

Position summaries for gubernatorial candidates - Law enforcement
Issue	Ralph Northam	Ed Gillespie
Firearms regulation	Voted against allowing concealed carry of firearms without a permit Voted against allowing firearms in bars Voted against allowing concealed carry by those convicted of DUIs in other states Voted to require background checks for all firearm sales Voted to continue limiting sales of handguns to one per month Supports universal background checks Supports a ban on assault weapons Supports requiring less ammunition capacity Voted to suspend concealed carry permits for gun owners "deemed by a judge as legally incompetent, mentally incapacitated, or who are involuntarily committed"	Opposes the expansion of firearms regulation Supports the reintroduction of Project Exile, which increased the rate of prosecution under federal rather than state firearms laws
Criminal justice	Supports changing sentencing practices and drug laws which he argues disproportionately impact minorities Supports abolishing the practice of suspending driver's licenses for inability to pay court fees Supports policies which would allow felons to vote after being released from prison Supports policies which would encourage alternatives to juvenile detention Supports moving prisoners requiring mental health treatment into treatment centers Supports increasing the threshold at which larceny is considered a felony from $200 to $500 Supports the decriminalization of marijuana	Opposes proposals to end the Truth in Sentencing program, which requires felons to serve at least 85% of their sentence Supports proposals which would increase access to restitution for victims of crime Supports the development of a strategy to combat human trafficking As of August 20, 2017, Gillespie had not yet released a full criminal justice plan, though his website indicated that one would soon be available.
Emergency responders		Supports increased compensation for law enforcement officers Supports the development of a recruitment program for state troopers from an institute of higher education, modeled after ROTC Supports increased funding for fire prevention programs Supports the development of a medical registry for first responders

Position summaries for gubernatorial candidates - Education
Issue	Ralph Northam	Ed Gillespie
Apprenticeships and trade schools	Supports increased access to further education Supports working with businesses and community colleges to promote and expand training programs Supports apprenticeships and job training in the last two years of high school for students not planning on attending college Supports the introduction of a Get Skilled - Get a Job - Give Back program, providing free community college to Virginians willing to commit to pursuing an associate degree in a specific needed area Matches participants with a mentor to guide them through the degree and graduation Requires participants to spend one year after graduation working in public service	Supports the development of standards of achievement for technical education
Charter schools	Supports increasing state funding for charter schools on the condition that public schools do not lose funding as a result	Supports the expansion of charter schools with an emphasis on areas where public schools are performing below the state average Supports the establishment of Education Savings Accounts, providing parents whose children do not attend public school with access to funding to further their children's education
College costs	Supports taking action to ensure that all qualified Virginians can afford a college education
Educational standards	Supports reevaluating testing standards for elementary schoolers Supports increasing access to preschool Supports decreased reliance on standardized testing Supports increased STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) education Supports the creation of a K-12 education policy advisory committee Supports increased development of virtual learning programs Supports the introduction of computer science standards for K-12 education Supports the creation of a statewide public education foundation to solicit donations and make grants to schools attempting new education methods Supports the introduction of school-based healthcare centers for children Supports a growth-based benchmarking system for schools	Supports reevaluating testing standards for public school students Supports standards of learning that account for both growth and achievement Supports increased STEM-H (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Health) education
Post-graduation opportunities	Supports increased funding for school counselors and Positive Behavior Intervention Services Supports investigating potential racial bias in students being referred to police Supports education programs intended to target students at risk of not graduating Supports limiting the use of long-term suspension and expulsion Supports the introduction of a rapid readiness program modeled after existing programs in Georgia and Louisiana that would model workforce training programs after the specific needs of businesses Supports the expansion of the University of Virginia campus at Wise	Supports increased funding for gang prevention programming in public schools Supports alternative educational programs for known gang members Supports continued funding for school resource officers
Teacher salaries	Supports increased teacher salaries Supports increased investment in professional development for educators Supports involving teachers in the creation of educational policy Supports increased investment in public-private partnerships for early childhood education Supports initiatives intended to encourage careers in early childhood education	Supports increased teacher salaries Supports modifications to teacher training programs to reflect current Standards of Learning Supports a modified teacher licensing program with an Adjunct Teacher license Supports incentives for teachers serving understaffed rural and urban districts, including the establishment of a teacher residency program

Position summaries for gubernatorial candidates - Environment
Issue	Ralph Northam	Ed Gillespie
Climate change	Serves on the governor's climate change commission Supports enforcing the standards of the Clean Power Plan Supports creating a Conservation Cabinet under the Secretary of Natural Resources Calls for increased funding for the Department of Environmental Quality
Chesapeake Bay	Voted in favor of creating a coastal flooding working group Voted in favor of protecting native oysters and funding conservation efforts Voted in favor of banning winter dredging of blue crabs Voted in favor of barring phosphorus from fertilizer to eliminate toxic runoff Supports allowing local regulation of fracking Supports maintaining the ban on uranium mining Supports maintaining the Total Maximum Daily Load pollution requirements Supports increased wetland and shoreline restoration Opposes the lifting of the offshore drilling ban	Supports the expansion of the Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund Supports the implementation of flooding plans that would cause insurers to lower flood insurance rates Supports flood-proofing military installations Supports the appointment of a Coastal Flooding Adaptation Officer
Natural gas pipelines	Supports thorough vetting of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipeline	Supports the construction of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipeline
Health and the environment	Supports the creation of an environmental task force that would focus on health impacts of pollution in impoverished communities Supports measures to regulate air quality, drinking water, and zoning for energy infrastructure
Renewable energy	Voted in favor of legislation to prevent energy companies from claiming tax credits by investing in out-of-state renewable energy Voted in favor of increased funding for development of solar and wind power Supports increasing investment in renewable energy Supports the introduction of additional infrastructure for electric vehicles and emissions reduction programs
Outdoor economy		Supports a marketing campaign and informational resource to promote the state's outdoor economy under the name The Outdoor Dominion Supports the establishment of Clinch River State Park Supports the establishment of 50 new river, stream, and water access points on state land Supports the development of partnerships with the private sector to promote the outdoor economy
Aquaculture, agriculture, and forestry	Calls for continued funding for the Virginia Farm Business Development Program Supports a plan to attract industrial hemp production when federal law changes Calls for continued promotion of agriculture, aquaculture, and agritourism industries Calls for continued funding of reforestation efforts Calls for continued funding for rural infrastructure projects Opposes proposals to allow uranium mining	Supports the appointment of a Joint Deputy Secretary for Rural Economic Development to coordinate between the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade Supports the promotion of agritourism and agriculture Supports the expansion of the state's industrial hemp sector Supports the inclusion of aquaculture in agriculture standards

Position summaries for gubernatorial candidates - Healthcare
Issue	Ralph Northam	Ed Gillespie
Substance abuse	Supported increased access to naloxone for overdose treatment Supports expanding access to new substance abuse treatments and drug courts	Supports increased funding for drug abuse programs in schools Supports reevaluation of opioid prescription standards Supports expansion of the state's Prescription Monitoring Program Supports expansion of the state's Safe Reporting Law to protect those who call 911 in cases of an overdose from a wider range of charges
Medicaid expansion	Supports expansion of Medicaid	Opposes expansion of Medicaid
Veterans' health	Voted in favor of new VA centers, as well as allowing VA treatment through community health centers Supports calling for VA reform at the federal level	Supports the construction of two additional veterans' care facilities Supports the appointment of a Virginia Women Veterans Services Coordinator
Women's health	Supports increased access to contraceptives and continued access to abortions Voted against mandated transvaginal ultrasounds Opposes measures barring abortion from being covered by health care plans sold on the state exchange Supports providing access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives to women who could not otherwise afford them

Position summaries for gubernatorial candidates - Social issues
Issue	Ralph Northam	Ed Gillespie
Childcare	Supports working alongside the private sector to develop a plan to increase access to early childhood education, health, and nutrition services
Domestic violence and sexual assault	Supports passing a law that would increase penalties for domestic violence when committed in front of a minor Supports requiring domestic abusers to pay for counseling	Supports the maintenance of domestic violence and sexual abuse victim services Supports the establishment of an annual convention of victim services organizations to coordinate efforts Supports expanded access to counseling for victims
Gender-neutral pay	Supports mandating transparent salary information to allow women to be better aware of pay discrepancies
Housing	Voted in favor of prohibiting housing discrimination against LGBT families Voted in favor of expanding access to housing vouchers Voted in favor of expanding access to information on fair housing laws
Immigration	Opposes measures that would limit entry to the state based on race, religion, or country of origin	Supports measures that would require local governments to comply with federal immigration law
Labor law	Opposes efforts to overturn Virginia's right-to-work legislation, suggesting that lawmakers should not "pick fights that we perhaps can't win right now"	Opposes efforts to overturn Virginia's right-to-work legislation
LGBT policy	Voted against a bill requiring transgender individuals to use the bathroom of their birth gender Voted in favor of protections for LGBT individuals facing discrimination in the workplace and adoption proceedings Opposes any measures that might be taken by the federal government that are potentially harmful to LGBT rights
Marijuana	Supports decriminalization of marijuana	Opposes decriminalization of marijuana Supports changes in sentencing practices towards marijuana offenders
Minimum wage	Supports raising the minimum wage
Paid family leave	Supports incentivizing businesses to provide paid family leave Supports providing small businesses with a tax credit in exchange for granting full-time employees eight weeks of paid family leave
Veterans' issues	Voted in favor of legislation which helped former medics find civilian employment by allowing them to qualify for EMT positions Supports extending similar legislation to other returning veterans	Supports the expansion of veterans' mental health dockets in the court system Supports the passage of legislation that would allow veterans qualified for specialized jobs to more easily receive the corresponding civilian qualification Supports a pilot program to test electronic absentee voting for servicemembers Supports the expansion of the Virginia War Memorial
Disability law	Supports the recreation of the office of Special Advisor to the Governor on Disability Issues Supports a state government hiring initiative targeting job seekers with disabilities Supports a system of tax credits for employers hiring disabled employees Supports an assessment of Virginia public schools' disability access and special education programs Supports a program which would modify the structure of the wait list for intellectual and developmental disability waivers with the eventual goal of eliminating the wait list entirely Supports a plan allowing Medicaid recipients with disabilities easier access to ridesharing services Supports modified standards for disability care
Voting law	Supports a repeal of Virginia's voter ID law Supports the introduction of same-day voter registration and universal access to early voting Supports naming Election Day a holiday for state workers Supports Virginia joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

Noteworthy events

Latino Victory Fund advertisement

On October 30, 2017, the Latino Victory Fund aired a campaign advertisement on behalf of Ralph Northam. The advertisement depicted a pickup truck with a Confederate flag and an Ed Gillespie bumper sticker attempting to run over a group of minority children playing in the street. The advertisement was pulled from the air after the October 31, 2017, vehicular terrorism incident in New York City. The advertisement was criticized by Gillespie, who argued in an appearance on FOX News on October 31 that "it's an attack on all Virginians...the fact is that whether you disagree with people or not, in Virginia we respect civil discourse and this is a new low in politics here." The criticism was echoed by Gillespie campaign manager Chris Leavitt, who argued "This is an all-out attack on the people of Virginia...This latest ad gives us a clear indication of just what Ralph Northam and his national Democratic allies think of all of us, and it’s sickening."

Northam spokesmen David Turner countered that Gillespie's campaign had run negative advertisements in the past: "Ed Gillespie has spent upwards of $9 million making obvious racial appeals...The tone and tenor of Ed’s campaign has been nothing but division and fear mongering. We understand why they would feel this way after the millions spent on demonizing immigrants." Latino Victory Fund President Cristobal J. Alex argued that the advertisement was fair, stating that "We held a mirror up to the Republican Party, and they don’t like what they see...Given recent events, we will be placing other powerful ads into rotation that highlight the reasons we need to elect progressive leaders in Virginia."

In a November 2 press conference, Cliff Hyra (L) criticized the tone of advertisements that had been run on behalf of both Northam and Gillespie, arguing that "It's unbelievable to me that I had to be the grownup in the room, because these 60-year-old men, these establishment politicians, a sitting lieutenant governor and a [former] chairman of the Republican National Committee apparently think that the best strategy (for) getting elected to the highest position of the state is name-calling."

Candidate reactions to August 12, 2017, civil disorder in Charlottesville

On August 12, 2017, civil disorder broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, following a demonstration against a local government proposal to remove a statue of General Robert E. Lee from a city park. Violence broke out between protesters opposed to the statue's removal and counter-protesters, leading to three deaths and 35 recorded injuries. In an article on the response to the unrest, the New York Times stated that the events in Charlottesville "thrust race and history to the forefront of this year’s campaign for governor in Virginia, a tradition-bound state whose identity has always been rooted in a past that is as proud for some residents as it is painful for others." Both Northam and Gillespie issued statements outlining their stance on monuments depicting figures associated with the Confederate States of America:

“	I support City of Charlottesville’s decision to remove the Robert E. Lee statue. I believe these statues should be taken down and moved into museums. As governor, I am going to be a vocal advocate for that approach and work with localities on this issue. We should also do more to elevate the parts of our history that have all too often been underrepresented. That means memorializing civil rights advocates like Barbara Johns and Oliver Hill, who helped move our Commonwealth closer towards equality.	”
—Ralph Northam

“	My opponent now says that he believes decisions about historical statues are best made at the local level, but that they should be removed. I believe that decisions about historical statues are best made at the local level, but they should stay and be placed in historical context. These are legitimate differences, and I know Virginians are engaging in an ongoing, thoughtful conversation about these sensitive issues, one marked by respect and understanding. ... Our history is our history. Mostly for the better, but at times for the worse, our Commonwealth has been at the forefront of historic events, and Virginians central players in them. I know that for many of my fellow Virginians, statues of Confederate soldiers are offensive and should come down. I know that for many others, they are a reminder of heritage and we cannot erase history by taking them down. In my view, the approach underway in the city of Richmond is a good example for other cities and counties to follow. While not removing statues, they are weighing how to put them in proper historical context. There is a balance that can be struck here, one that recognizes the outsized role Virginia has played in our history, while acknowledging that we have not always been on its right side. Rather than glorifying their objects, the statues should be instructional. While ensuring that Confederate statues are not exalting them but educating about them, we should do more to elevate Virginia’s history in expanding freedom and equality by extolling the many Virginians who played critical roles in this regard.	”
—Ed Gillespie

On August 22, 2017, the Northam campaign released a campaign ad arguing that Gillespie should have released a statement opposing President Trump's response to the unrest.

On August 29, 2017, the Gillespie campaign circulated an email to supporters urging signatures on a petition opposed to the removal of statues associated with the Confederacy. The campaign also announced that it had hired pastor Jack Morgan to coordinate field efforts in southwestern Virginia. Morgan had worked on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign in Virginia and on Corey Stewart's bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination earlier in 2017. Stewart, who had stated his opposition to the removal of monuments honoring figures associated with the Confederacy, held a rally at the statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville in February 2017.

A Suffolk University poll of 500 likely Virginia voters released several days before the debate found that 32 percent of voters surveyed supported the removal of statues associated with the Confederate States while 57 percent of voters were opposed to their removal. A Fox News poll of 507 registered Virginia voters released shortly after found that 13 percent of voters had a positive reaction to the Confederate flag, while 33 percent reacted negatively and 51 percent did not have a strong reaction either way.

Debates

Ed Gillespie on universal background checks

October 27, 2017: At a 2017 debate between Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates, Ralph Northam (D) asked Ed Gillespie (R), "Do you support universal background checks in the Commonwealth of Virginia?" Gillespie prefaced his response by stating, "As you know, there are universal background checks." Is that correct? Has Virginia enacted universal background checks for firearms purchases?

Read Ballotpedia's fact check »

Three debates were held between Northam and Gillespie; a July 22 debate in Hot Springs, Virginia, a September 19 debate in Tysons, Virginia, and an October 9 debate in Wise, Virginia.

October 9

The third debate of the campaign was held on October 9, 2017, in Wise, Virginia. Northam and Gillespie agreed on several issues, including support for developing both coal and renewable energy, state funding for treatment for opioid addiction, and the use of public-private partnerships to develop broadband in rural areas of the state. The debate was advertised as exploring a mix of issues of interest to the state as a whole and issues of specific importance to southwestern Virginia. Both candidates discussed their rural development proposals, with Northam calling for free tuition for college students willing to commit to working in rural Virginia as well as promoting job growth in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health in rural areas. Gillespie countered by proposing the expansion of rural universities such as the University of Virginia at Wise and the promotion of industrial hemp production and the outdoor economy in rural areas. As in the previous two debates, both candidates referred to Gillespie's proposed tax cut, with Gillespie arguing that it would spur economic growth while Northam countered that it would endanger programs such as education and public safety.

September 19

The second debate of the campaign was held on September 19, 2017, in Tysons, Virgina. Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie discussed a range of issues including immigration, the economy, and statues of figures associated with the Confederate States of America. Much of the discussion on the state's economy was centered around Ed Gillespie's proposal to cut the state's income tax across all brackets by 10 percent. While Northam argued that the plan would have a negative impact on the state's budget, Gillespie countered that it would boost the state's economy and lead to additional revenue. On immigration, Gillespie criticized Northam's vote against a bill that would have banned sanctuary jurisidictions in the state. Northam argued that the bill was not necessary since there were no sanctuary jurisdictions in the state.

The candidates also disagreed on the proper course of action regarding statues of figures associated with the Confederate States of America. While Northam called for localities to move their statues to museums, Gillespie argued that they should be left in place with additional historical context. Both candidates referred to the August 2017 civil disorder in Charlottesville as they outlined their positions:

“	If these statues give individuals, white supremacists like that, an excuse to do what they did then we need to have a discussion about the statues.	”
—Ralph Northam

“	We don't have to glorify the objects of the statues; we can educate about them...We have to learn from history, and that is a difference.	”
—Ed Gillespie

Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra was not invited to participate in the September 19 debate, but did attend as a member of the audience. Hyra posted answers to questions posed to Northam and Gillespie on his Twitter account over the course of the debate.

Ed Gillespie on Virginia's economy

August 15, 2017: Ed Gillespie, GOP candidate for Virginia governor, claimed, "Too many Virginians are working part time who want to work full time. We hit a 10-year low in labor force participation rate last year...and since the lieutenant governor was first elected to the General Assembly 10 years ago, we have shed 69,000 manufacturing jobs. We're trading out high-paying jobs for low-paying jobs."
Is Gillespie right about Virginia's economy?

Read Ballotpedia's fact check »

July 22

The first debate of the campaign was held on July 22, 2017, in Hot Springs, Virginia. Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie discussed a variety of issues, including the state government's level of coordination with President Trump. Ahead of the debate, both campaigns released statements concerning the President:

“	A vote for Ed Gillespie is a vote for Donald Trump. Pure and simple.	”
—Virginia Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Swecker

“	Virginia needs a governor who is eager to work with President Trump, not be at odds with him...Lieutenant Governor Northam has not only made clear he is unwilling to work with President Trump, but his relentless name-calling and hyperpartisan rhetoric has all but assured any working relationship between Northam and the federal government would be inconceivable.	”
—State Sens. Frank Wagner and John Cosgrove

Other topics of discussion included healthcare, immigration, capital punishment, and the economy. Both candidates referred to issues that had come up in the primary elections. Northam, like Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chair Corey Stewart (R), criticized Ed Gillespie's tax plan, contending that did not provide specific enough plans to cut government spending to justify a $1.3 billion decrease in revenue. Gillespie, like former Rep. Tom Perriello (D), asked how Northam explained not opposing a proposed natural gas pipeline that would be constructed in the state while criticizing the use of hydraulic fracturing techniques, a charge that had also been raised by a protester earlier in the debate.

The state's relationship with President Trump was also discussed, with Northam arguing that Gillespie should criticize proposed policies of the President that he argues would harm Americans. In response, Gillespie emphasized the importance of maintaining a working relationship with the president. A poll released by Quinnipiac University on June 21, 2017, found that 46 percent of Virginia voters would be less likely to vote for a gubernatorial candidate who supports President Trump, while 25 percent said they would be more likely to support such a candidate and 28 percent said it would not make a difference.

“	I believe that our president is a dangerous man...I believe that he lacks empathy. You need to look no further than his mocking of the journalist. That’s all that I needed to see. And he also has difficulty telling the truth. And it happens again and again. As we say on the Eastern Shore, he lies like a rug.	”
—Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam

“	When you hear the lieutenant governor, he calls his campaign the resistance. Resistance 2017...What are you going to do as our governor? Call the White House and say please put me through to the narcissistic maniac?	”
—Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie

Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra was not invited to the July 22 debate.

Ralph Northam on Virginia pipelines
August 29, 2017: Northam faced criticism for not opposing construction of natural gas pipelines in Virginia. Referring to the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline during a 2017 gubernatorial debate, Northam said, "At the end of the day...FERC will make that final decision."
Is he correct? Read Ballotpedia's fact check »

Endorsements

The following table outlines endorsements of Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie by significant national, statewide, and local figures as well as advocacy groups.

Endorsements - Governor of Virginia
Endorsement	Northam	Gillespie
National figures
Gov. Matt Bevin (KY)		✓
Rep. Don Beyer (VA-8)	✓
Rep. Barbara Comstock (VA-10)		✓
Sen. Tom Cotton (AR)		✓
Sen. Ted Cruz (TX)		✓
Gov. Doug Ducey (AZ)		✓
Former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina (VA)		✓
Former Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-4)		✓
Former Rep. Newt Gingrich (GA-6)		✓
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (VA-6)		✓
Rep. Morgan Griffith (VA-9)		✓
Former Gov. Nikki Haley (SC)		✓
Former Rep. Robert Hurt (VA-5)		✓
Sen. Tim Kaine (VA)	✓
Rep. Donald McEachin (VA-4)	✓
Former Pres. Barack Obama (IL)	✓
Former Rep. L.F. Payne, Jr. (VA-5)	✓
Sen. Marco Rubio (FL)		✓
Gov. Chris Sununu (NH)		✓
Rep. Robert Scott (VA-3)	✓
Pres. Donald Trump		✓
Gov. Scott Walker (WI)		✓
Former Sen. John Warner (VA)		✓
Sen. Mark Warner (VA)	✓
Former Rep. Frank Wolf (VA-10)		✓
State figures
Former Gov. George Allen		✓
Activist Martha Boneta		✓
Activist Ward Burton		✓
Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation President Rick Buchanan		✓
Attorney General Mark Herring	✓
Gov. Terry McAuliffe	✓
Former Gov. Bob McDonnell		✓
Municipal figures
Chesapeake Mayor Alan Krasnoff		✓
Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea	✓
Manasssas City Mayor Hal Parrish		✓
Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms		✓
Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer	✓
Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg	✓
Organizations
American Muslim Women PAC	✓
Associated Builders and Contractors		✓
Bluefield Daily Telegraph		✓
Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions		✓
Daily Press	✓
EmgagePAC	✓
The Free Lance-Star		✓
InsideNoVa		✓
International Brotherhood of Police Officers	✓
Laborers' International Union of North America	✓
The Middle Resolution		✓
National Black Farmers Association	✓
National Federation of Independent Business		✓
National Review		✓
National Right to Life Committee		✓
NOVABIZPAC		✓
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia	✓
Pride Fund to End Gun Violence	✓
Richmond Crusade for Voters	✓
Richmond Times-Dispatch		✓
Virginia Education Association	✓
Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC		✓
Virginia Fraternal Order of Police		✓
Virginia Hunting Dog Alliance		✓
Virginia Police Benevolent Association		✓
Virginia Professional Fire Fighters	✓
Virginia Retail Merchants Association		✓
Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance	✓
The Virginian-Pilot	✓
The Washington Post	✓
The Winchester Star		✓

Media reactions to election outcome

See also: Media coverage of the Virginia gubernatorial election, 2017

This section provides an overview of media reactions to the election's result from Virginia and across the country. Selected articles are presented as a jumping-off point for deeper exploration of media coverage and as an overview of narratives that emerged surrounding the election. Media responses are divided into three broad categories:

• Campaign strategy: Articles discussing the specific strategies employed by the candidates in the 2017 election.
• Implications for Democratic strategy in 2018: Articles discussing what Northam's victory means for Democratic campaigns in 2018.
• Implications for Republican strategy in 2018: Articles discussing what Northam's victory means for Republican campaigns in 2018.

Campaign strategy

• Paul Kane, The Washington Post (November 8, 2017):

"Northam had been mocked by liberal activists at the national level who thought his lack of emotional energy felt out of step with the times, leading to deep criticism of an ad in which the lieutenant governor briefly said he would work with Trump on issues that helped Virginians but overlooking the part of the ad that excoriated Trump.

In his victory speech, Northam delivered that same double-barreled message, something that more Democrats are likely to copy next year. He blasted Trump’s 'hatred and bigotry' yet promised nonpartisan governance."

• Alex Isenstadt, Politico (November 8, 2017):

"Gillespie spent months trying to perform a balancing act. He emerged from a June primary deeply frustrated, after Trump supporters nearly powered Stewart to an upset victory. Gillespie vented about his political operation and even considered a staff shakeup. The former national party chairman sketched out several possible paths forward, including a full-on embrace of the president."

• Kristen Soltis Anderson, Washington Examiner (November 7, 2017):

"There is always, of course, the data. When Gillespie ran a race focused on winning voters in the suburbs, he nearly upset Sen. Mark Warner. When he ran a race that tried to adopt Trumpism, he got numbers that looked a lot like … well … Trump’s.

Trump won 44.4 percent of votes in Virginia in 2016. At press time, Ed Gillespie had won 45 percent of the vote in 2017.

Hewing close to the Trump line in 2017 did pay off for Gillespie in some areas, to be sure. There are absolutely voters who are newly-motivated to support a Republican if he or she tries to get close to Trump. Places where Trump did much better than Gillespie’s 2014 race (Southwest Virginia) are places where Gillespie actually saw a boost in 2017, where some of that 'Trump Magic' seems to have rubbed off. If Gillespie had flopped in Trump Country, then the distancing act that we are seeing from Trump would be more credible. But no, the problem was not that Gillespie failed to bank votes in Trump-land."

• Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post (November 7, 2017):

"Gillespie’s strategy, if it were to work, depended on juicing up red areas in southwestern Virginia and hoping northern Virginians didn’t turn out. But that strategy didn’t work for Trump in 2016, who lost the state by five points, and it therefore was always a long shot for a Trump imitator, someone barely recognizable to those who knew him as a middle-of-the-road Republican. Moreover, northern Virginians turned out in huge numbers, perhaps in order to send that anti-Trump message.

Trumpians will claim Gillespie didn’t embrace Trump enough, of course. (The Dear Leader is never a liability, you see.) In 2017, however, there simply are not enough pro-Trump voters in the swing state to make up for the voters enraged by Trump and his tactics. (One cannot help but notice that former president Barack Obama campaigned in the state for Northam, while Trump was too toxic to show up for Gillespie.)

Northam did not run a fabulous race. However, he ran a good-enough race and was able to hold onto northern Virginia Democrats, independents and enough anti-Trump Republicans to carry him to victory. Liberal turnout was high (28 percent of the electorate), although their favorite candidate Tom Perriello lost in the primary. Northam stuck to the same middle-of-the-road agenda that McAuliffe has deployed. Given McAuliffe’s popularity, that was a wise move in a middle-of-the-road state."

• Elliot Hannon, Slate (November 7, 2017):

"Gillespie, despite being a party Republican of the George W. Bush era who served as a senior counselor in the Bush White House, repositioned himself as a born-again populist for the race, hitting all the Trumpy cultural themes of blaming immigrants, declaring Confederate monuments sacrosanct, and admonishing NFL players for kneeling in protest during the national anthem. Northam ran hard against Trump in the Democratic primary, but had trouble finding his footing in the general election. Democrats elected statewide in Virginia typically can’t rely on progressive red meat, and some of Northam’s stances on immigration and Trump himself angered the party faithful. That appeared to give Gillespie a plausible path to the governor’s mansion despite flagging Republican popularity nationally. Polls had the two running neck and neck going into Election Day."

Implications for Democratic strategy in 2018

• Janell Ross, The Washington Post (November 9, 2017):

"If there was a reckoning for Republicans this week, there’s a lesson for Democrats, too. In the year since Trump’s surprise election, many voices in the Democratic Party ecosphere have insisted so-called identity politics are bad, very bad and sometimes, crude. Putting them aside to focus on the so-called real issues driving the white working class’s sense of cultural displacement and economic decline, is the smart play, this lot argues. What this week’s victories make clear is something quite different. A more diverse array of candidates and those who accept and know Democratic voters are also a diverse group may be more effective. In short, Democrats who want to win Democratic voters would do well to recognize all the identity issues like fair pay, health care access, criminal justice reform and civil rights are central to the national welfare for most of the party’s most reliable voters."

• Nate Cohn, The New York Times (November 8, 2017):

"The catch, though, is that the overwhelming Democratic strength in well-educated areas did not cross the political divides of the 2016 election and reach into white working-class areas. In fact, Mr. Northam, a Virginia Military Institute graduate with a strong Southern pedigree, didn’t even come close to matching Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Mr. Obama or Senator Tim Kaine in rural western Virginia. Democratic State Assembly candidates didn’t run well ahead of Mrs. Clinton, either.

Yes, the political divisions of the 2016 presidential election wound up working pretty well for Democrats in Virginia, a highly educated state. But that might not be the case for Democrats in a lot of the rest of the country. There are only 11 Republican-held congressional districts in the United States where Mrs. Clinton won by five points or more. Even if Democrats swept those 11 districts, it wouldn’t get them that far toward the 24 seats they need to flip the House."

• Nathaniel Rakich, FiveThirtyEight (November 8, 2017):

"In Virginia specifically, the main reason that Democrats were able to win so many House of Delegates races on Tuesday was that so many Republicans were occupying blue seats. Going by our partisan lean metric, 50 House of Delegates seats are naturally Republican-leaning and 50 are naturally Democratic-leaning; going into Tuesday, Republicans held all 50 of the former and 16 of the latter. If the current leader wins in every race, though, Republicans would hold only two Democratic-leaning seats in the next House of Delegates (Democrats would also hold two Republican-leaning ones). Put another way, Tuesday was a corrective election.

Basically, the national environment (as expressed by the generic ballot and other indicators) was friendly enough to Democrats that it neutralized Republicans’ incumbency advantage on Tuesday. If this holds in 2018, that may be enough to put the U.S. House in play. And, of course, not all seats Republicans will be defending will feature incumbents, further brightening the outlook for Democrats. The more Republicans continue to retire from Congress, the clearer the Democrats’ path to a House majority will become."

• Michael Barone, Washington Examiner (November 8, 2017):

"The danger for Republicans — and the opportunity for Democrats — is that Republicans next year will run, as Gillespie did, at Trumpish levels in high-education constituencies but fall, as he didn’t, to pre-2016 levels in low-education areas. And despite Gillespie’s improvement on 2014 in non-metropolitan Virginia, Democrats made big gains in state House races by running well-organized and well-financed campaigns, mostly in high-education suburbs. Republicans went into Election Day with a 66-34 majority in the chamber; as this is written, Democrats might just gain the 17 seats needed to overturn that.

This has led David Wasserman, the Cook Political Report’s ace House race analyst, to say Democrats are 'slight favorites' to overturn the Republicans’ 241-194 majority in the U.S. House. My impression is that anti-Trump enthusiasm has been inspiring many serious Democrats to run in high-education, but not many in low-education, districts."

• Issie Lapowsky, Wired (November 7, 2017):

"Now, as CEO of the progressive startup Flippable, which she co-founded to raise funding for Democratic state house races, Vaughan faces yet another test of a year's worth of work. Flippable has raised $125,000 over the last seven months, with the goal of electing five Democrats to the Virginia House of Delegates. Tonight's election results will be an early indicator of whether Flippable's predictions about which five races were most winnable for Democrats were right. This time, Vaughan is managing her expectations.

'This is a long fight. None of us expects to flip the entire Virginia house today,' she says. Instead, Vaughan and others stand to benefit from even a loss, using what they’ve learned from the Virginia house race to prepare for a much bigger fight in 2018, when more than 80 percent of state legislative seats across the country are up for grabs."

• Nick Baumann, Amanda Terkel, and Igor Bobic, Huffington Post (November 7, 2017):

"Many Democratic activists were worried that the party was going to let the Virginia governor’s mansion slip from its grasp. Concern that Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam was failing to excite the base, along with a fear-mongering anti-immigrant campaign run by Republican Ed Gillespie, led to concerns it would be a repeat of the 2016 presidential race.

Northam, however, sailed to victory Tuesday, guaranteeing Democrats a seat at the table when state legislative and congressional districts get redrawn in 2020. The party won the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general, too.

The night was validation for the many activists around the country who joined the resistance after Trump’s win and have been feverishly working at the grassroots to mobilize the party’s base. There’s no doubt that the victories will provide a jolt of energy for what’s coming in the 2018 midterm elections."

• Laura Barrón-López, Washington Examiner (November 7, 2017):

"Northam’s victory will likely quiet dissenting wings of the party who have grown frustrated over the slow-walking of major reforms they want the party to implement — but it won’t last long.

Democrats pointed to the Virginia contest as their first real chance to send a message that the party can win in the Trump era and will give them momentum as midterm races heat up.

Though Northam’s win helps Democrats prepare their strategy for 2018, it was too close for comfort and won’t result in a kumbaya moment among Democrats who still have a lot of rebuilding ahead of them."

Implications for Republican strategy in 2018

• Chris Stirewalt, Fox News (November 8, 2017):

"Republicans would like to take a lesson away from Tuesday that tells them how best to run in 2018. Trump shunning? Conservative policies with a Trumpy garnish? Full-bore embrace of Trump, the man and the message?

But the lesson from Tuesday is that it may not matter. Virginia Democrats were fired up and ready to go in ways we didn’t see in the Obama years, and the results from elsewhere in the nation suggest much the same.

So much may change in the next year, but for now Republicans probably ought to just do as they please. The best way to ride a wave is on your own surf board."

• Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist (November 8, 2017):

"What does it mean that Gillespie performed not just worse than Trump, and worse than he did in 2014, but worse than his top-of-the-ballot cohorts who were openly Trump-supportive? Many theories have been offered.

Some say his attempt at fusionism failed, and that you can’t be half a populist and expect voters to buy it. Others say he didn’t have the benefit of running against Clinton, a candidate who managed to lose nationwide despite having so many resources supporting her. Others say it’s just Gillespie himself — a seasoned swamp lobbyist and establishment figure running for office at a time when voters have had enough of that sort. But Gillespie performed quite well with downstate, traditional conservative Republican voters, failing to resonate in his own homeland of Northern Virginia. He only did a tiny bit better than Trump in the heart of the swamp — Fairfax County. That’s Gillespie’s home county!

No matter the cause, Gillespie didn’t do as well as Trump in a race where his running mate Vogel did slightly better than Trump had."

• David Harsanyi, The Federalist (November 8, 2017):

"Was the Virginia loss also a backlash against the president? I’m sure that’s part of it, too. Trump is historically unpopular, and his presidency has become the all-consuming topic in Washington. But Virginia was not unique. Arguing that these conventional political losses denote colossal shifts in American politics is disingenuous unless you can explain why these results are different from what’s happened in the past.

The more likely explanation for what’s going on is that our votes aren’t as well-thought-out as pollsters imagine. Maybe elections — both presidential and local — tell us less than we think. Maybe voters are instinctively averse to those in charge because those in charge always let them down. And maybe once a president is elected, the other half intuitively begins working to strip him of power. Maybe politics is a tribal endeavor rather than a policy-driven decision."

• Scott Bland, Politico (November 8, 2017):

"The Republican nominee for Virginia governor underperformed the unpopular president in a toxic political environment for the GOP — losing by landslide margins even in territory where, just three years prior, he had nearly broken even in a run for Senate.

Democratic Gov.-elect Ralph Northam swept Gillespie away in the vote-rich suburbs just outside Washington and Richmond. In Loudoun County, which Trump lost by 17 points in 2016, Gillespie lost by 20 points to Northam. Gillespie lost by 23 points in Prince William and Henrico counties, where Trump fell by 21 points. And his 37-point defeat in Virginia’s biggest jurisdiction, Fairfax County, was worse than Trump’s 36-point loss there in 2016.

The GOP started the year, pointing to a silver lining in Trump’s bad suburban 2016 results. He didn’t drag other Republicans down with him, they said, and if the party could figure out how to pair its traditional suburban strength with Trump’s rural enthusiasm, they would be unbeatable.

Now, that ambition has given way to alarm."

• Stuart Stevens, quoted in Politico (November 8, 2017):

"Tuesday night’s election results highlighted the difficult position in which Trump places many Republican candidates. The culture wars excite a certain section of base—but also alienate many voters who are more focused on the economy and a traditional conservative message of less government.

It seems instructive that the Republican lieutenant governor and attorney general candidates outperformed the top of the ticket. Both held conservative positions but did not engage in inflammatory cultural issues. I’d say there was a message in those results for future Republican candidates."

• Michael Tackett, The New York Times (November 8, 2017):

"Lessons from off-year elections can be overdrawn, but the Virginia race strongly suggests that Republicans running in swing states will have to choose a side rather than try to straddle an uncomfortable line. Mr. Trump’s blunt force, all-or-nothing approach has worked in deeply conservative areas, but Republicans will have trouble replicating that in certain states in the midterms next year when faced with a diverse, highly educated electorate like the one in Virginia."

• Ian Mason, Breitbart (November7, 2017):

"Contrary to the #NeverTrump narrative – which blamed Gillespie’s shortfall, in part, on his late turn towards populism with ads referencing the fight against illegal immigration and the preservation of Virginia’s Confederate history – if anything, the two better-faring statewide Republicans more warmly embraced Trumpism. Gillespie was rarely seen as a hard-right populist, serving under John Kaisch and George W. Bush in his political tutelage, before briefly becoming chairman of the Republican National Committee. He, despite running a more hardline campaign in the waning days of his quest for the Virginia governorship, ran as a decided anti-populist as recently as this summer, when he took on Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart for the nomination."

• Larry Sabato, Twitter (November 7, 2017):

"Dear Pundit Friends, please stop attributing this D landslide in VA to "changing demographics". VA hasn't changed that much since last Nov. 8 (Hillary by 5%). The bigger explanation is a backlash to Trump and Trumpism, pure and simple. #VAGov"

• Lisa Hagen, The Hill (November 7, 2017):

"Northam’s victory helps Democrats avoid an embarrassing blow going into the pivotal 2018 midterms. They’ll point to the governor’s race as evidence that they can win elections in the Trump era, as well as effectively campaign against the president in blue-leaning states.

It also shows Republicans are still figuring out how much distance they need to keep from Trump. Gillespie never asked Trump to come down to Virginia to campaign with him and only got several tweets and a last-minute robocall from the president. The decision to never fully embrace Trump or denounce him likely hurt Gillespie with conservative base voters as well as more moderate voters who remain opposed to the president."

Campaign statistics

Polls

Click here for a full overview of polling in this election
This section contains the results of the five last polls conducted in this race. The reported levels of support for each general election candidate are provided, in addition to the number of voters polled and the poll's margin of error. The margin of error is an expression of a pollster's level of confidence in the results of the poll; pollsters predict that the actual results will fall within the margin of error 95 percent of the time. For instance, if a pollster reports that 40 percent of voters support a candidate and estimates a 5.0 percent margin of error, that means the pollster believes there is a 95 percent chance that between 35 and 45 percent of voters actually support that candidate.

Virginia gubernatorial election (most recent polls)
Poll	Ralph Northam	Ed Gillespie	Cliff Hyra	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size
Monmouth University (November 2-5, 2017)	47%	45%	3%	6%	+/-3.7	713
Fox News (November 2-5, 2017)	48%	43%	2%	8%	+/-2.5	1,450
The Polling Company (November 2-5, 2017)	45%	44%	3%	7%	+/-3.46	800
Emerson College (November 2-4, 2017)	49%	46%	1%	4%	+/-3.4	810
Quinnipiac University (October 29 - November 5, 2017)	51%	42%	3%	4%	+/-3.9	1,056
AVERAGES	48%	44%	2.4%	5.8%	+/-3.39	965.8
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Race ratings

Race Ratings: Governor of Virginia (Open seat)
Race Tracker	Race Ratings
The Cook Political Report	Lean Democrat
Governing	Toss-up
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democrat
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Lean Democrat
Decision Desk HQ	Lean Democrat
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

Following the June 13, 2017, primary election, the Cook Political Report, Rothenburg & Gonzales Political Report, Decision Desk HQ, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the race as Lean Democrat, citing the results of the Republican primary, which ended with Ed Gillespie receiving a smaller margin of victory over Corey Stewart than polling had indicated. Decision Desk HQ noted "Initially, we regarded this race as a TOSSUP. However, Gillespie does not start the general campaign in a good position after last night. Further, Northam’s strong showing last night, coupled with the state’s trend, make TOSSUP hard to justify. We are moving this race to LEANS DEMOCRATIC." The most recent race rating from Governing, published in January 2017, regarded the race as a Toss-up.

Campaign finance

Click here to view detailed campaign finance information for this race.
This section details the campaign finance activities of candidates as of the October 30, 2017, reporting period, which covers all contributions and expenditures made before October 26, 2017.

Northam's top three donors as of October 26, 2017, included:

• Democratic Governors Association - $3,063,411
• Virginia League of Conservation Voters - $1,630,326
• Planned Parenthood Virginia - $833,552

Gillespie's top three donors as of October 26, 2017, included:

• A Stronger Virginia - $4,000,000
• Let's Grow Virginia - $1,147,355
• Republican Governors Association - $1,000,000

Historical context

Gubernatorial elections in Virginia, 1977-2017

Election results (Governor of Virginia), 1977-2017
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2017	Ralph Northam	53.9%	Ed Gillespie	45.0%	8.9%
2013	Terry McAuliffe	47.7%	Ken Cuccinelli	45.2%	2.5%
2009	Bob McDonnell	58.6%	Creigh Deeds	41.3%	17.3%
2005	Tim Kaine	51.7%	Jerry Kilgore	46.0%	5.7%
2001	Mark Warner	52.2%	Mark Earley	47.0%	5.2%
1997	Jim Gilmore	55.8%	Don Beyer	42.6%	13.2%
1993	George Allen	58.3%	Mary Sue Terry	40.9%	17.4%
1989	Douglas Wilder	50.2%	Marshall Coleman	49.8%	0.4%
1985	Gerald Baliles	55.2%	Wyatt Durrette	44.8%	10.4%
1981	Chuck Robb	53.5%	Marshall Coleman	46.4%	7.1%
1977	John Dalton	55.9%	Henry Howell	43.3%	12.6%

Virginia is the only state to prohibit governors from seeking re-election, meaning that every gubernatorial election has been for an open seat. In the ten elections preceding the 2017 race, the Democratic candidate won six times, while the Republican won four times. However, all winning Republican candidates received double-digit margins of victory. Out of the past ten electoral cycles, the only Democratic candidate to win with a double-digit margin of victory was Gerald Baliles in 1985. Baliles' 10.4 percent margin of victory was lower than that of any of the four winning Republican candidates. Northam's margin of victory in the 2017 election was the second-widest of any Democratic candidate during this period. The best performance of any third-party candidate in the ten previous election cycles was Libertarian Robert Sarvis' 6.5 percent share of the vote in 2013.

Gubernatorial elections in Virginia tend to favor the candidate whose party does not currently hold the presidency. With the exception of Terry McAuliffe's victory in the 2013 election, the last time the candidate from the president's party won a gubernatorial election in Virginia was Mills Godwin's defeat of independent candidate Henry Howell in the 1973 election, held during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Presidential elections in Virginia, 1980-2016

Election results (President of the United States), Virginia 1980-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Hillary Clinton	49.7%	Donald Trump	44.4%	5.3%
2012	Barack Obama	51.1%	Mitt Romney	47.2%	3.9%
2008	Barack Obama	52.6%	John McCain	46.3%	6.3%
2004	George W. Bush	53.7%	John Kerry	45.5%	8.2%
2000	George W. Bush	52.5%	Al Gore	44.4%	8.1%
1996	Bob Dole	47.1%	Bill Clinton	45.2%	1.9%
1992	George H.W. Bush	45.0%	Bill Clinton	40.6%	4.4%
1988	George H.W. Bush	59.7%	Michael Dukakis	39.2%	20.5%
1984	Ronald Reagan	62.3%	Walter Mondale	37.1%	25.2%
1980	Ronald Reagan	53.0%	Jimmy Carter	40.3%	12.7%

In the ten presidential election cycles leading up to the 2017 gubernatorial election, the Republican candidate has won Virginia seven times while the Democratic candidate has won three times. The three Democratic victories were also the three most recent elections, while the Republican candidate won the state in all presidential elections between 1968 and 2004. The only three double-digit margins of victory were those won by Republican candidates in 1980, 1984, and 1988. The widest margin of victory across the ten preceding cycles was Ronald Reagan's 25.2 percent margin in 1984 while the narrowest was Bob Dole's 1.9 percent margin in 1996.

Historical election maps

Provided below are electoral maps indicating the results of the 2017 election as well as the two preceding gubernatorial and presidential elections by county and independent city, created using electoral results published by the Virginia Department of Elections. To view the share of the vote received by the major-party candidates in a particular county or city, hover your mouse cursor over that county or city. It may be necessary to zoom in in order to view vote shares for independent cities. A map depicting population figures for each county and city created using a 2015 population estimate published by the University of Virginia is provided for reference.

Population estimate, 2015

Gubernatorial election, 2009

Presidential election, 2012

Gubernatorial election, 2013

Presidential election, 2016

Gubernatorial election, 2017

Other elections

Two other state executive offices were on the ballot in 2017: lieutenant governor and attorney general. In the lieutenant gubernatorial election, attorney Justin Fairfax (D) defeated state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R) for the seat left open by Ralph Northam (D). In the attorney general race, sitting Attorney General Mark Herring (D) secured re-election by defeating attorney John Adams (R). There were also special elections to fill two vacant seats each in the state Senate and House of Delegates, in addition to regularly-scheduled elections for all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. Finally, there were elections scheduled for the boards of 15 Virginia school districts that are among the nation's top 1000 by enrollment.

Pivot counties

Ballotpedia has identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2012 and 2008. There are five of these pivot counties in Virginia.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Buckingham County, Virginia	11.28%	2.43%	0.87%
Caroline County, Virginia	5.02%	8.24%	11.97%
Essex County, Virginia	2.14%	7.30%	10.35%
Nelson County, Virginia	5.59%	2.72%	9.15%
Westmoreland County, Virginia	7.14%	6.95%	10.24%

General election results

Governor of Virginia - pivot counties, 2017
County	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)	Trump margin of victory - 2016 (%)	Obama margin of victory - 2012 (%)	Obama margin of victory - 2008 (%)
Buckingham County	Ed Gillespie	57.35%	Ralph Northam	41.80%	15.55%	11.28%	2.43%	0.87%
Caroline County	Ed Gillespie	49.47%	Ralph Northam	49.35%	0.12%	5.02%	8.24%	11.97%
Essex County	Ed Gillespie	52.73%	Ralph Northam	46.47%	6.26%	2.14%	7.30%	10.35%
Nelson County	Ed Gillespie	48.91%	Ralph Northam	48.84%	0.07%	5.59%	2.72%	9.15%
Westmoreland County	Ed Gillespie	53.45%	Ralph Northam	45.56%	7.89%	7.14%	6.95%	10.24%
Average across pivot counties	Ed Gillespie	52.38%	Ralph Northam	46.40%	5.98%	6.23%	5.53%	8.52%
Statewide results	Ralph Northam	53.90%	Ed Gillespie	44.98%	8.92%	-5.32%	3.88%	6.30%

In the general election, all five of Virginia's pivot counties went to Ed Gillespie, who was defeated by an 8.92 percent margin in the statewide results. In three counties, Gillespie's victory was by a wider margin than Donald Trump's in 2016, while Gillespie won the other two by a narrower margin than Trump had. Gillespie's overall performance across Virginia's five pivot counties was lower than Trump's, at 5.98 percent to Trump's 6.23 percent. The three counties where Gillespie improved on Trump's performance had all gone to Ken Cuccinelli (R) in the 2013 election, while the two where Gillespie performed worse than Trump had gone to Terry McAuliffe (D).

Primary results

Governor of Virginia (Democratic primary) - pivot counties, 2017
County	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
Buckingham County	Tom Perriello	73.14%	Ralph Northam	26.86%	46.28%
Caroline County	Ralph Northam	51.86%	Tom Perriello	48.14%	3.72%
Essex County	Ralph Northam	64.05%	Tom Perriello	35.95%	28.10%
Nelson County	Tom Perriello	90.81%	Ralph Northam	9.19%	81.62%
Westmoreland County	Ralph Northam	61.08%	Tom Perriello	38.92%	22.16%
Average across pivot counties	Tom Perriello	57.39%	Ralph Northam	42.61%	14.78%
Statewide results	Ralph Northam	55.92%	Tom Perriello	44.08%	11.84%

Governor of Virginia (Republican primary) - pivot counties, 2017
County	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Third-place candidate	Third-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
Buckingham County	Corey Stewart	50.41%	Ed Gillespie	43.38%	Frank Wagner	6.21%	6.93%
Caroline County	Ed Gillespie	48.66%	Corey Stewart	45.60%	Frank Wagner	5.75%	3.06%
Essex County	Ed Gillespie	52.30%	Corey Stewart	39.92%	Frank Wagner	7.78%	12.38
Nelson County	Corey Stewart	54.38%	Ed Gillespie	35.71%	Frank Wagner	9.91%	18.67%
Westmoreland County	Ed Gillespie	44.09%	Corey Stewart	43.42%	Frank Wagner	12.49%	0.67%
Average across pivot counties	Corey Stewart	46.75%	Ed Gillespie	44.83%	Frank Wagner	8.43%	1.92%
Statewide results	Ed Gillespie	43.74%	Corey Stewart	42.50%	Frank Wagner	13.75%	1.24%

Of Virginia's five pivot counties, three - Caroline County, Essex County, and Westmoreland County, went to the eventual winners of the June 13, 2017, primary elections. The other two pivot counties, Buckingham County and Nelson County, were won by Tom Perriello in the Democratic primary and Corey Stewart in the Republican primary. Nelson County went to Perriello by an 81.62 percent margin and to Stewart by an 18.67 percent margin - the largest margins of victory among pivot counties in either primary. In both cases, the average of results from all five pivot counties favored the runner-up. Across all pivot counties, Tom Perriello secured a 14.78 percent margin of victory over Ralph Northam, despite losing the statewide election to Northam by an 11.84 percent margin. Corey Stewart was the victor over Ed Gillespie in Virginia's pivot counties by a 1.92 percent margin in spite of Gillespie's 1.24 percent margin of victory in the overall election.

Party control in Virginia

Virginia Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D

At the time of the 2017 election,Virginia had had a divided government since Governor Terry McAuliffe was elected in 2013, ending a two-year Republican trifecta: Democrats held the governorship while Republicans held a three-seat majority in the State Senate and a 32-seat majority in the House. The state had been represented in the United States Senate by Democrats since 2009, though its class 2 Senate seat was held by Republicans from 1973 to 2009. Virginians also elected Republican George F. Allen to the class 1 seat in 2001; he served until 2007. Though the state's electoral votes went to Democrats Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016, Virginia voters had previously selected the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1968.

The office of governor in Virginia had tended to alternate party control over the past five decades, with no single party controlling the seat for longer than 12 years since 1969, when the election of Linwood Holton (R) ended an 84-year period of Democratic governors. As governors in Virginia may not serve consecutive terms, every election for the office is open and, with few exceptions, gubernatorial races in the state are usually quite close.

In statewide elections since 2009, Republicans are 0-7. Following the 2013 election cycle, Republicans did not hold a single statewide office for the first time in more than 40 years.

Primary elections

For more information on Virginia's 2017 gubernatorial primary, click here
During a primary election, voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Virginia utilizes a hybrid primary process in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary. In the past, the Virginia Republican Party had selected candidates for statewide races at a convention; however, in August 2016, the State Central Committee voted 41-40 to select candidates via primary elections instead.

Virginia's primary election was held on June 13, 2017.

In the Democratic primary, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam defeated former Rep. Tom Perriello, while in the Republican primary, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie defeated Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart and state Sen. Frank Wagner.

Media analysis in the days following the election focused on the discrepancies between pre-election polling and the actual results–polls had predicted a close Democratic contest and a wide margin of victory in the Republican election, but the election resulted in an 11-point margin among Democratic candidates and less than a 1-point margin among Republicans. The National Review noted that "Gillespie has to unite a divided party in a state trending from purple to blue", with InsideNoVa quoting Stewart as saying on the night of the election that "This fight will continue, and I’ll continue to fight as long as you’ll fight with me...There’s one word you’ll never hear from me, and that's 'unity.'". Another focus of media analysis was voter turnout - 542,000 voters participated in the Democratic primary and 365,000 in the Republican primary. The National Review posited that the difference "follows a plausible narrative that the Democratic grassroots are indeed fired up and the GOP grassroots have gotten somewhat complacent". Meanwhile, Politico's coverage of the election noted that the Democratic turnout numbers broke the previous record for primary turnout in the state's gubernatorial elections. In the 2016 presidential primaries, Democratic turnout of 785,000 voters was surpassed by a Republican turnout of 1,025,000 voters.

State profile

Demographic data for Virginia
	Virginia	U.S.
Total population:	8,367,587	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	39,490	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	69%	73.6%
Black/African American:	19.2%	12.6%
Asian:	6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	3.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	8.6%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	88.3%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	36.3%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$65,015	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	13%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Virginia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Virginia

Virginia voted for the Democratic candidate in four out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Virginia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Virginia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Virginia coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Virginia
• United States congressional delegations from Virginia
• Public policy in Virginia
• Influencers in Virginia
• Virginia fact checks
• More...

See also

Virginia government:

• Virginia state executive offices
• Virginia State Legislature
• Virginia courts

Elections:

• State executive official elections, 2017
• State executive official elections, 2016
• State executive official elections, 2015

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Trifecta control of state government

External links

Suggest a link

• Governor of Virginia official website