Longtime conservative leader, 2014 U.S. Senate nominee, and 2017 Republican candidate for governor Ed Gillespie released the following statement on tonight’s Democratic gubernatorial debate:
“If Virginians learned anything tonight from Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello, it’s that their fight to prove who is more progressive will continue to take priority over the best interests of the people of the Commonwealth. In fact, every time they stand on a stage together, the Lieutenant Governor and the Congressman manage to move themselves further and further away from the political center, and more importantly, further away from the pressing concerns of Virginians.
“In their last debate, Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello both broke with longstanding bipartisan support for our Right to Work laws, which would hurt job creation. Even Governor Terry McAuliffe, 2009 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Creigh Deeds, and former-governor, now United States Senator, Tim Kaine, all strongly support Right to Work.
“Tonight, Tom Perriello vocally opposed, yet again the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Ralph Northam didn’t disagree, refusing to to stand up for the project Governor Terry McAuliffe strongly supports and has been called an urgent need by the every Democrat and Republican in the Hampton Roads legislative delegation.
“It is obvious that Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello are more interested in playing politics than putting forth serious policies to help the people of Virginia. I will continue to focus our campaign on promoting substantive solutions to create good paying jobs, grow our economy, ensure that our energy supply remains affordable and reliable, provide tax relief to all Virginians, and strengthen our Commonwealth for all Virginians.”
Note: The entire Hampton Roads legislative caucus, Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter in support of the ACP, writing: “The need for this project is urgent; to put it bluntly, our region’s natural gas transportation system has reached a tipping point…The pipelines serving Hampton Roads are fully subscribed. Without new infrastructure, there is no way to meet our region’s rising demand for natural gas.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, 3/16/16)