Gov. Ralph Northam wants to make it clear: the Democrats’ 2021 election loss wasn’t about him. It was bad messaging.
“One of the things that I regret is that we didn’t talk enough about what we’ve done as Democrats,” Northam told WVEC (Norfolk, Va.) reporter David Alan this week. “I think as long as we continue to listen and say we tend to the needs of our fellow Virginians, then the Democratic Party will be strong.”
That’s on Terry McAuliffe, of course, but it’s also on Democratic primary voters for giving the former governor the nomination.
McAuliffe ran from the get-go as the presumptive winner, rolling out various and sundry “bold” plans, as his team referred to his policy proposals, without catching on to the realities of the 2021 cycle.
Northam, who couldn’t run for re-election, due to Virginia’s constitutional quirks, was damaged goods dating back to the 2019 blackface revelations, and his glamming for the cameras during the pandemic put Democrats further behind the 8-ball with independents.
This isn’t breaking news, but Northam told Alan in the interview that he isn’t angling for his next political job, instead aiming to return to his pediatric medical practice once his term as governor is up next month.
“Sometimes when you’re away from something, you realize how much really enjoyed it and missed it. I like taking care of children and their families, and I look forward to going back to Hampton Roads and doing more of that,” Northam said.
That, of course, has nothing to do with how he’d never get elected in Virginia again after blackface and COVID, and President Biden isn’t risking the little political capital he has left with an administration appointment.
Story by Chris Graham
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