My thoughts on VA

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

First, I'd like to congratulate Jill Vogel and John Adams on their excellent campaigns. Both outperformed the top of the ticket, which is a clear accomplishment given that Northam clearly had coattails (see the HoD). Had Gillespie actually managed to give Northam a close race, it's very possible that one or both of them would have pulled through. Unfortunately their races were not winnable in a Northam +9 environment, but they could very well still have some sort of political future after tonight.

Now, on to the governor's race. First, a pumping of the breaks on conservative worry about what Northam might do. Northam is a mainstream democrat, just like Gillespie is a mainstream republican. He is cut from the same mold as Obama, and would not impose bernie policies on the state. VA can and will prosper under his leadership. I call on the republicans in the legislature to put aside the partisan games. Regardless of who wins control of the HoD, republicans will still control the state senate, meaning we are entering an era of divided government. The gubernatorial campaign highlighted several challenges the state of VA faces, and in this era of divided government, it's important for everyone to work together to find real solutions for the state.

Gillespie's 9 point loss in VA was clearly an embarrassing performance and he should be ashamed of himself. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize for my justification and disregarding of Gillespie's campaign tactics Re: MS-13 and Sanctuary Cities. These tactics were underhanded, nuclear, dishonest, and completely ineffective. Trumpism is not a winning tactic in Virginia, and given the margin, likely not a winning tactic for the country as a whole. Nor was it a necessary 'drug' for republicans to win back the presidency, Rubio or Kasich would have beaten Hillary too. Republicans best path forward is to reject Trumpism and return to the establishment-driven model that served them well in senate elections in 2014 and 2016. Republicans can and will recover from this night, but only if they realize that no matter how much certain sects of primary voters may like Trumpism, it is not a winning prescription or even an american prescription for the country, and firmly leave it behind. If they continue to embrace Trumpism, they can kiss the house goodbye in 2018. And they can also kiss my support goodbye, for if I could live through this race again, knowing what I know now, I would endorse Northam, and I will be very reluctant to endorse anyone in the future who embraces the tactics of Trumpism.