What They Are Saying: Democrat Division Grows In Virginia Over Ralph Northam’s Pipeline Support

In Virginia, Democrat gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam’s support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline continues to draw anger from his party’s base, jeopardizing his chances of victory in November. With increasingly vocal anti-pipeline Democrats mobbing Northam’s campaign events, with some even threatening to stay home or back a third party candidate over him, Democrat division continues to grow, threatening to fragment Northam’s party ahead of the November election. Here are some highlights of recent coverage.

ABC Norfolk reported that opponents of the pipeline protested the opening of Northam’s new campaign headquarters in Norfolk:

“Demonstrators faced off over the construction of fracking pipelines in Hampton Roads. Both sides came face-to-face over the weekend at the opening of Ralph Northam’s campaign headquarters in Norfolk.

The Democrat is running for Governor. He’s taken heat from environmentalists for not denouncing Virginia’s pipeline projects.”

NBC Charlottesville also stated in its broadcast that Northam has been “catching flak” from members of his own party for “support of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline:”

The Washington Post noted that some Democrats are seriously considering voting for a third party candidate instead of Northam because of his support for the pipeline:

“Some are taking a hard look at Cliff Hyra, a Libertarian running for governor who opposes the pipelines. If the race between Northam and Gillespie is tight, Hyra could play the spoiler — giving the protesters more power than they seem to have now.

‘I spent a lifetime primarily voting for the lesser evil,’ said Mara Robbins, an environmentalist in Floyd County who has worked against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. ‘Those of us who are taking this stand are getting slammed right and left by party loyalists, by people saying this is what happened with Hillary and Trump and Bernie [Sanders] supporters who wouldn’t vote for Hillary.’”

Pipeline opponents continued to voice their outrage, calling into The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU radio, with one saying “Ralph Northam’s going to lose a lots of votes” because of his support for the pipeline: