Trump’s candidate stirs no love in Virginia’s Trump country

WTOP News [Washington DC] ^ | October 23, 2017 10:49 am | AP

[COBOL2Java]

POUND, Va. (AP) — People in Virginia’s coal country still love President Donald Trump, but not his pick to be their next governor.

Ed Gillespie is a Washington insider and Trump’s choice as Virginians prepare to go to the polls. The president promised southwest Virginia voters in a tweet, “Ed Gillespie will never let you down!”

Trump, who promised to revive the coal industry, had some of his biggest victory margins in Appalachia’s coal region last year. But those same voters said they know little about Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, corporate lobbyist and multimillionaire who was raised in New Jersey and now lives in Northern Virginia.

The town of Pound, nestled near the Kentucky line, was once a booming coal center where the main drag got so busy with shoppers that people couldn’t find a parking spot. Now, many shops are boarded up with dusty “For Sale” signs. Some buildings are collapsing, overgrown with weeds. Jobs are scarce. Prescription pain pills are a major problem. The high school closed in 2011.

Eight out of 10 voters in Pound backed Trump, and some of the town’s remaining business owners and patrons say their faith has already been rewarded.

“I’ve seen more coal trucks in the last six months than I have in the past eight years,” said David Williams, who owns a TV repair and fishing gear store.

But Gillespie is about as un-Trumplike as a candidate can be, and generates much less interest.

[Lurkinanloomin]

The Lt Gov. candidate is a good prospect for a future run, but we have to get rid of the Bush leftovers in the VA GOP.
Electing Gillespie works against that.

[Lurkinanloomin]

I am a big fan of Bannon, hometown boy.
I know the northside neighborhood he grew up in.
I always thought he would be more useful outside the constraints of the White House.

[RKBA Democrat]

Both candidates are uniparty twits. The best argument the R’s can give to vote for amnesty Ed is redistricting in 2020. Not because Ed will do anything useful or conservative, but because he’ll sign the redistricting plan.

This election just screams “stay home.”

[blueyon]

“””Great - another “Gotta vote for the ‘R’!” voter - because he’s...well...because he’s...because he’s...well...” “””

Yes......since there are only 2 choices, either an abortion loving way left wing liberal or a Rino GOP...............what other choice is there...........and did you really expect me to list “qualification”......okay here Gillespie does not stand for allowing a baby at 9 months to be decapitated and ripped apart in the womb, brains, eyes and heart sold like the liberal Northam does!

[Spiridon]

My sense of Mr. Gillespie is that he is a RINO and if he wins its the coattails of Trump that will bring him over the finish line like some last minute push-endorsement from President Trump.

By the way, I want to see President Trump and Vice President Pence with Roy Moore in Alabama ahead of that general election which comes in December.

[kabar]

After the party primary elections were held, the major party nominees are Jill Vogel (Republican) and Justin Fairfax (Democrat).

Justin Fairfax

Jill Vogel

Jill Vogel is better than Gillespie on the issues, but the reality is that VA is a blue state. Vogel would become the first female LtGov. IMO she will get more votes than Gillespie.

In her first year in the Senate, Vogel became a leader in enforcing our immigration laws. She introduced bills to allow state law enforcement to initiate deportation proceedings, to ban in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, and to require law enforcement to check immigration status as part of every arrest.

[kabar]

My sense of Mr. Gillespie is that he is a RINO and if he wins its the coattails of Trump

Gillespie is a Bushie and a RINO. Trump has no coattails in VA. It will be all about turnout. If the Dems turn out, especially in NoVA, the Dems will win easily.

[Wilhelm Tell]

The gun grabbers are giving lots of money to the Democrat. Obviously, they see a difference and the Democrat is worth it for them to “invest” in while they are not “investing” in even a RINO. So there is not an ideal choice but the gun grabbers are counting on the Democrat.

[COBOL2Java]

Yes......since there are only 2 choices...

There are 3, actually.

[EDINVA]

“Gillespie is not Trump’s pick for Governor of VA.
“He is the VA GOP’s pick.”

No. Gillespie is the pick of the majority of Virginia Republicans who bothered to get out and vote in the competitive GOP primary. As winner of the GOP primary, Gillespie is the choice of Donald J. Trump, the Republican POTUS. Nothing complicated about that.

The choice is not between Corey Stewart and Northam; it’s between Gillespie and Northam. You can stay home if you wish but don’t gripe when/if a Gov. Northam redefines the electoral map of VA when redistricting happens during this governor’s term.

[Lurkinanloomin]

And I may still leave it blank

[HamiltonJay]

This guy’s a GOPe he’s not going to excite the MAGA base... the press doesn’t get it... unlike Obama who was a cult of personality.. Trump is about what he represents not Trump himself and that’s something that Elites can’t understand.

It is not surprising in the least that a GOPe candidate is not exciting the MAGA voter.

[HamiltonJay]

This guy’s a GOPe he’s not going to excite the MAGA base... the press doesn’t get it... unlike Obama who was a cult of personality.. Trump is about what he represents not Trump himself and that’s something that Elites can’t understand.

It is not surprising in the least that a GOPe candidate is not exciting the MAGA voter.

[Lurkinanloomin]

The Governor does not draw the maps. The very conservative House of Delegates does that.

[outofsalt]

Ralph is very much loved by the libs and so I will vote for Ed.

[COBOL2Java]

The Governor does not draw the maps. The very conservative House of Delegates does that.

Thanks for that info! I thought that "redistricting" line was BS.

[BobL]

I will state what I stated to Central VA earlier today:

If the Democrat wins, for whatever reason, the media will run with the story that TRUMP HAS BEEN REPUDIATED. HUGE SLAP-DOWN FOR TRUMP!! The fact that us hard-core conservatives were attempting to teach the GOP a lesson regarding the sticking of RINOs in our faces will never make it past the Copy Editor.

Now we here (including the 10,000 or so well-informed, hard core, conservatives in Virginia) may well know the real truth, but IT DOESN’T MATTER - we do not get to write the headline - the Left does, whether we like it or not.

In other words, Virginia, by being the only major competitive election in 2 weeks, is a NATIONAL ELECTION and will be reported as such if the RINO loses. If conservatives in Virginia want to be left alone to have elections based on local politics, they need to change when the election takes place - specifically, they need to have the election NEXT YEAR, when 35 other states have. Barring that, then settle this crap in the Primaries, as we did with Cantor in 2014.

But for now, if the RINO loses, for 99% of the country, it will be a DEFEAT FOR TRUMP, and a MAJOR DEFEAT.

So please think about that when trying to ‘teach the GOP a lesson’...because Trump, AND ONLY TRUMP, will be the loser if you’re successful - which is EXACTLY what the GOPe wants.

[Republican Wildcat]

Does the governor have to sign the redistricting plans for the state legislative offices?

The main benefit of Gillespie winning would be the headlines (or lack thereof - if he wins it is a nonstory, if he loses, it is a sign voters are totally fed up with Trump, even though Trump did not even win this state) and the demoralization of the Democrat base - same way as the Karen Handel victory - it wasn’t even about Karen Handel that made her victory so important.

[Lurkinanloomin]

Believe me, nobody is sicker of having Democrat Governors than I am, but Gillespie has little chance of winning.

[Republican Wildcat]

Right - it is just that simple. Think Karen Handel - it wasn’t even about her at all that made her victory so important. It was to quash what would have been wall to wall headlines about how this is proof it is over for Trump and the GOP. Her victory royally demoralized the Democrat base nationwide - they poured everything they had into a single Congressional district and still lost.