Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) It’s not always easy getting people excited to vote in a late-spring, off-year primary.
Not in Virginia.
“There’s no doubt there’s more interest this year than most years,” University of Mary Washington political scientist Dr. Stephen Farnsworth told WMAL. “I think what you see is a pretty powerful Trump effect here. Democrats are very frustrated, many of them by the Trump election.”
Voters will head to the polls next Tuesday to choose one Democratic gubernatorial candidate and one Republican gubernatorial candidate ahead of November’s general election. While primary turnout usually hovers around seven or eight percent, Farnsworth said it could top ten percent this year. There may be an extra layer of excitement thanks to how tight the race is on the Democratic side.
“Polls show a pretty close race between (Lt. Governor Ralph Northam and former Congressman Tom Perriello),” Farnsworth said. “They kind of appeal to different kinds of Democrats,” with Northam a more establishment-type and Perriello representing the Bernie Sanders-esque insurgent wing.
The Republican side, Farnsworth said, is more staid with former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie opening a wide lead over State Senator frank Wagner and Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart.
But voters will be choosing more than just their next governor. There are plenty of races in the House of Delegates, and therein exhibits more Democratic frustration.
“In races where there might not have been a Democratic candidate two years ago, you’re seeing three, four, five candidates,” Farnsworth said.
Outgoing Governor Terry McAuliffe is seeing the same thing.
“We have primaries in seats we used to have trouble getting a (Democratic) candidate to run,” McAuliffe told reporters last week. “President Trump’s at about 35% (approval rating) in Virginia. We have never in our history had a president this low. People are angry.”
McAuliffe has been stumping for Northam, noting as a positive what others may see as a negative – continuity from his administration to the next.
“You’ve seen all the polling data. Two-thirds of Virginians think the state’s headed in the right direction,” McAuliffe said. “Generally, people are very happy and Ralph’s been there at my side.”
But if Perriello wins, McAuliffe said, “I’m out there first thing the next morning.”
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