By the way, it may help in Virginia . .I don’t know. But it won’t help if he wants to run for national office.
He didn't do it to "help" with his constituents (frankly, in the end in Virginia it's not a "republican vs democrat", or even a "conservative vs liberal" argument). He did it because he believes that Virginia's heritage should be recognized, and that since we have museums, statues, and battlefields that people come to see in order to explore the civil war history, the state should promote that in order to spur tourism.
The proclamation he made is benign, and I note that those objecting aren't citing specific things he said and disagreeing with them.
Interestingly, he is getting criticized most for something he DIDN'T say, something that has nothing to do with the proclamation -- the point of slavery, as if we can't mention "confederate history" without always making it clear that "slavery was bad". Is there really anybody left in this country that is arguing that slavery is good?