Virginia's executive mansion (Photo by Thinkstock)
Political observers will be watching closely on June 13, when both of Virginia’s major parties hold primaries to nominate candidates for governor and lieutenant governor.
As one of just two states with a gubernatorial race in 2017 (the other is New Jersey), Virginia could be a bellwether of the national political mood, says Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.
“All the national money and national attention will be coming this way,” Farnsworth says.
In the Democratic contest, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a physician and Army veteran, is backed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe and both of Virginia’s U.S. senators. Former 5th District Rep. Tom Perriello, an attorney who served as special envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa, unexpectedly entered the race in January. He has received endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
On the GOP side, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, who nearly upset Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in 2014, is seen as the front-runner. Challenging Gillespie are former Trump Virginia campaign co-chairman Corey Stewart, an attorney and chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors; and state Sen. Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach, an engineer and Navy veteran.
Cliff Hyra, an attorney, is carrying the banner of the Libertarian Party in the governor’s race.
