I live in Virginia so I knew from the get-go that the gubernatorial contest between pro-life Republican Ed Gillespie and pro-abortion Democrat Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam would be a barn-burner right down to November 7.
And that is why the latest poll from Monmouth University showing Gillespie up by one percentage point –48% to 47%–did not surprise me in the least. There were two other polls released Tuesday according to Steven Shepard of Politico showing Northam up by 4 and 6 points, respectively, but they are not as current as the Monmouth University poll.
As always it’s about how the polls are trending.
For example, last month the Monmouth poll had Northam up by 5 points.
The same Christopher Newport University poll that has Northam up by 4 (48% to 44%) had him in the lead by 7 (49% to 42%) just a week ago.
The lone outlier is a Roanoke College poll which had Northam up by 4 last month (47% to 43%) and 6 now (50% to 44%).
Virginia is the only state with a governor’s race in 2017. In 2018 there will be 36 gubernatorial contests.
Northam is making abortion a prominent issue in his television advertising. Not always, but in an overwhelming majority of cases, when the public knows the candidates’ positions on abortion, the advantage goes to the pro-life candidate.
In a story that ran in the October digital edition of NRL News, which went online yesterday, NRL Political Director Karen Cross wrote about the stark contrasts.
National Right to Life has endorsed Republican Ed Gillespie, a 100% pro-life candidate who will sign pro-life laws and support live-saving policies in Virginia to succeed pro-abortion Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
The Virginia affiliate of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, has endorsed Northam. They have pledged to spend $3 million in the race supporting Northam, whose record as a member of the state Assembly was solidly pro-abortion.
Northam’s position is so extreme that he supports abortion on demand – that is, abortion for any reason anytime during the pregnancy. This means he supports deliberately taking the life of an unborn baby’s life for any reason at all – even late in pregnancy when the baby can feel excruciating pain during abortion.
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And Northam also wants to use your tax dollars to pay for abortion.
Ed Gillespie is a strong advocate for life. As governor, he would support and sign pro-life legislation, including legislation to protect an unborn child from abortion at the point he or she can feel pain. He also opposes using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion.
Stay tuned. The battle to succeed pro-abortion Gov. Terry McAuliffe is going down to the wire.
Monmouth Poll
1./2. If the election for governor was today, would you vote for Ed Gillespie the Republican, Ralph Northam the Democrat, or Cliff Hyra the Libertarian? [ IF UNDECIDED: If you had to vote for one of the following at this moment, do you lean more toward Ed Gillespie or Ralph Northam?]
48% — Ed Gillespie
47% — Ralph Northam
3% — Cliff Hyra
0% — (VOL) Other/write-in
3% — (VOL) Undecided
LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.
