Trump and Charlottesville threaten to upend Virginia governor's race

Racial politics and President Trump are roiling Virginia's governor's race and threatening to derail Republican nominee Ed Gillespie.

Gillespie is saying and doing all the right things in the wake of a white supremacist uprising and left-wing counter-protest in Charlottesville, Va., and Trump's decision to spread equal blame for the unrest between the racists and opposition demonstrators.

But Virginia Republicans fear events and the president's reaction have irrevocably nationalized the race, energizing lackluster Democratic nominee, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, and overwhelming Gillespie and his strategy of campaigning on local, kitchen table issues.

"This is where the Democrats want this race and the Republicans don't," a Virginia Republican insider said Wednesday, on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly.

The Nov. 7 contest is perhaps remarkably competitive considering history, that Trump lost the state last year to Democrat Hillary Clinton, and his poor job approval ratings.