Democrat wins bitter Virginia race for governor

This article is more than 12 months old

Nov 09, 2017 06:00 am

WASHINGTONDemocrat Ralph Northam won a bitter race for Virginia governor on Tuesday, dealing a setback to US President Donald Trump with a decisive victory over a Republican who had adopted some of the President's combative tactics and issues.

Mr Northam, Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, overcame a barrage of attack ads - by Republican Ed Gillespie - that hit him on divisive issues such as immigration.

Mr Trump, who endorsed Mr Gillespie but did not campaign with him, had sent tweets supporting the former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

But after the outcome, Mr Trump quickly distanced himself from Mr Gillespie.

"Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for," Mr Trump tweeted. "With the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!"

The race highlighted a slate of state and local elections that also included a governor's race in New Jersey. Democrat Phil Murphy, a former investment banker and ambassador to Germany, defeated Republican Kim Guadagno for the right to succeed Republican Chris Christie. - REUTERS