Ralph Northam, the Democrat candidate for governor in Virginia, released an advertisement linking his Republican opponent to Neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville.
The advertisement features a photoshopped image of President Donald Trump and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie next to a group of torch-bearing Neo-Nazis and members of the alt-right marching in Charlottesville, VA.
Last week, three public polls showed that the Virginia race is deadlocked: a Monmouth University poll had Gillespie leading Northam 48 percent to 47 percent. The Northam ad linking Gillespie to hate groups may be a sign that Democrats are worried about the status of the race.
This is not a piece you would send out if you were cruising to victory. pic.twitter.com/uaDmmqZFhn
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) October 25, 2017
“This has never been more than a 5-point race in Monmouth’s polling, and that means either candidate has a very real shot at winning this thing,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said.
Susan Swecker, the chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said, “We’re Ground Zero. All eyes are on us. I can understand that because last year broke my heart.”