Very hard to see Gillespie winning statewide in a Trump off-year in a state Trump lost by more than Romney, especially considering how much the state's Trump voters seemed to clearly and unexpectedly reject Gillespie's candidacy.
Just because they're rejecting it now doesn't mean they won't eventually vote for it.
They'd prefer a hard right moron like Stewart, but they'll vote for Gillespie compared to Northam.
They'll probably come around to voting for Gillespie. Either that, or they won't vote at all.
Also, polls just after the primary is over are notoriously bad. But Democrats will underestimate Gillespie at their own risk. Nearly upsetting Mark Warner was a wake-up call for VA Dems, and they should be more wary of him this time, even though this may be an anti-GOP environment.
It may be an anti-GOP environment compared to 2014, but Gillespie got nearly no resources that year, it'll be far different this time. The Governor's association will put a good amount of money in this race, Gillespie most certainly will have support from the national GOP, and Northam might have tacked a bit too far to the left and that will hurt him. Tilt D for now but I expect this race to move back to toss up before November 7th.