Attacks From Democrat Base Divide Ralph Northam’s Struggling Campaign

In Virginia, Democrat gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam’s support for pipelines continues to draw backlash from members of his own party, dividing Democrats ahead of November’s general election. After his off-message performance in the first gubernatorial debate, his party is even further apart, leading RVA Magazine to note that the main attacks on Northam are coming from the Democrat base.

RVA Magazine reports:

“The first attack on Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam did not come from Republicans, but the progressive base of his own party.

Northam had barely started his opening statement when a protester interrupted him with cries of “No pipeline!” The project he was referencing, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), has become an internal flashpoint between establishment party members and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.”

Anti-pipeline Democrats were even more furious at Northam after the debate, with some activists calling his position “excruciatingly disappointing” and pledging to write in “No Pipeline” instead of Northam’s name:

“In fact, the furthest either candidate strayed from the base of their own party was Northam’s support of the natural gas pipelines, something many Virginia Democrats, liberals, activists, and progressives actively oppose.

‘It was exactly what we expected, and excruciatingly disappointing,’ said Richard Averitt, an anti-pipeline activist who also attended the debate – in reference to Northam’s stance on the ACP. ‘He’s lieutenant governor, and a huge percentage of his down-ticket candidates have all taken the right position on this, which is a no-pipeline position, and he is staying the course.’

‘We’ll write in ‘No Pipeline,’’ said his wife, Jill Averitt, when asked if either candidate had won their support.