Democrat Ralph Northam will serve as the new governor of Virginia after his victory in Tuesday’s election. Northam won with 53.9 percent of the vote over his opponent Republican Ed Gillespie, who received 45 percent. Prior to Tuesday, many of the polls were inconclusive as to who would win. However, Northam ultimately won with a large margin of 8.9 percent.
This race was quite contested as many viewed it as emblematic of the public’s opinion towards President Trump and the Republican controlled government.
Gillespie received an endorsement from Trump on Twitter on Tuesday. Upon his defeat, Trump tweeted: “Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for.”
Gillespie ran his platform against sanctuary cities, and in favor of the preservation of Confederate statues. Additionally, he made claims linking immigrants to the gang MS13. Northam also promised to reject potential sanctuary cities in Virginia.
Other notable winners of the night include Democrat Phil Murphy as governor of New Jersey; incumbent Democrat Bill de Blasio as mayor of New York City; and Democrat Danica Roem as a member of Virginia’s House of Delegates. Roem will be the first openly transgender woman to hold this office. In Utah, Republican John Curtis clinched the Third Congressional District seat.
Overall, the election proved largely successful for the Democrats.
Next month, there will be a special election in Alabama to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ vacated Senate seat.
