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There was similar outrage in the region, a bedroom community for federal workers, when Mr Trump briefly froze government hiring and, months later, endorsed a possible shutdown of the bureaucracy to squeeze Democrats into supporting funding for his immigrant-blocking wall on the border with Mexico.įor Mr Gillespie, an establishment Republican in the Bush mold, all this is reason to run from Mr Trump, even while his campaign, with its nativist-toned ads, has been influenced by him. Mr Trump’s travel ban, first introduced in January, rippled through-and riled-the heavily Democratic, vote-rich Northern Virginia suburbs, home to large numbers of Asians, who now account for roughly 6% of the state’s population. Its location, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, means that national, state and local politics often elide. Some of his policies have had an immediate and measurable effect on this Southern state. The president, who restated his support for Mr Gillespie in tweets last week that depicted the nominee as tough on immigration and strong on the economy, is more than a distraction in the Virginia campaign. The Republican refuses to say whether he would publicly appear with Mr Trump should he travel to Virginia to affirm his endorsement of Mr Gillespie, initially made in early October, via Twitter. That should make it easy for Mr Northam to play the guilt-by-association card against Mr Gillespie. At 33%, Mr Trump’s approval rating in Virginia roughly tracks his similarly underwhelming national scores. Spooked by the unexpected victory of Mr Trump last year, some Democrats worry that enmity for him won’t translate into a surge of votes for Mr Northam, who reflexively links Mr Gillespie to the unpopular president. The lower turnout magnifies the strength of the most reliable vote: older, white, male, conservative, heavily rural. This is because voter participation, which exceeds 70% in presidential years, falls to around 40% in governor elections.