VIRGINIA VOTE – AT 10:47 A.M. ET:  Virginia goes to the polls on November 7th to elect a new governor, in one of the few off-year gubernatorial elections.  The state is currently governed by Democrat Terry McAuliffe, best known as a Clinton loyalist and operative.

In recent years Virginia, once solidly Republican, has become more of a purple state, thanks in marge measure to the liberal counties, filled with government workers, in the northern part of the state, just outside Washington, D.C.

The odds are that the governor's office will remain in Democratic hands, with the Dems possibly picking up some seats in the legislature.  But the GOP is putting up a terrific fight.  From RealClearPolitics: 

Not for Lovers: With less than two weeks left till voters go to the polls, the Virginia gubernatorial election has turned into an all-out brawl, with Democrat Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie recently trading below-the-belt campaign punches. Adding to the chaos, Wednesday evening Hampton University released a new poll showing Gillespie ahead, 41 percent to 33 percent, with a whopping 27 percent undecided. The eight-point advantage for Gillespie is at odds with other recent surveys, and Northam currently maintains a 3.9 percentage point lead in the latest RealClearPolitics poll average.

COMMENT:  If Gillespie can pull it out, it would be an earthquake,  If Dems retain control, it won't be big news. 

Virginia went for Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, by about five points.

October 26,  2017