Mara, dear .... the vote in VA was fueled by the ironic and obscene anti-Gillespie ad put out by the “Latino Victory Fund.” If racism is your thing, this was your ad!!
I worked at the polls on election day. To say Hispanic and minority voting was up would be to minimize what went on. I’d appreciate someone’s doing a turnout analysis as to Hispanics/Blacks/Muslims/ Whites compared to prior VA gubernatorial elections. Also, I’d sure like someone to see how many non-citizens managed to get registered to vote, and did vote.
Oh, the great irony? The ad showed ‘children of color’ running from a scary truck with a Gillespie bumper sticker and Confederate flag, boys grabbing a little girl in her hijab, “run, run...” As the ad was running on TV, Sayfullo Saipov, a Muslim refugee granted entry to the US under an idiotic ‘random drawing’ program meant to increase our “diversity’ (as if we don’t have enough), rented a truck from an American company and drove it into a NYC walking/running path, killing 8 and injuring 11 others. After mowing down walkers/runner over a mile’s course, Saipov jumped out of his truck shouting “Allahu Akbar” and later insisted on hanging an ISIS flag in his hospital room (who’s picking up that hospital tab?)
So, if racism sells in ‘18 and the Dems and their supporters continue this line of political discourse, Mara may just be right. Especially when conservatives choose to stay home instead of voting for an imperfect R candidate on the ballot.
Gillespie wasn’t an ‘imperfect’ candidate.
He was a hard line Anti-Trumper.
An imperfect Republican candidate may very well have made it.
As it was we had a Democrat.