Northam and Perriello Abandon Centrism & Embrace Extremism

In their race to the left for the Democrat gubernatorial nomination in Virginia, NBC News reports this week on how Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello have chosen to embrace extreme policies to appease a far-left base while ignoring a traditional centrist strategy that would appeal to mainstream Virginians.

NBC News reports:

“Say hello to the 2017 Democratic gubernatorial primary in Virginia, which increasingly has become a contest to see which candidate is more progressive. And say goodbye to the more centrist Virginia Democratic playbook that current Sen. Mark Warner — and Tim Kaine and Jim Webb, to lesser degrees — used successfully in the state over the last 16 years.”

University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato noted that Northam had already embraced Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe’s liberal politics even before his primary became competitive, but Perriello’s entry has only fueled their efforts to prove who is more far-left:

“No question Perriello is dragging Northam to the left,’ Sabato said. ‘Actually, Northam has moved left during the McAuliffe administration, even before Perriello announced. But now Northam has to stress all of his liberal positions — some of which, on gun control and abortion, may be more to the left than Perriello’s record.”

With both Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello staking their candidacies on who is the most left-wing candidate for Virginia, they increasingly put themselves at odds with mainstream Virginians in need of capable leadership.