Charlottesville mayor: Virginia is ‘a wall against Trump and Trumpism’

The mayor of Charlottesville, Va., celebrated the results of the highly-anticipated governor’s race on Tuesday, calling Virginia “a wall against [President] Trump and Trumpism.”

“The eyes of the country are on the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Mayor Mike Signer (D) tweeted. “As they should be. We are a wall against Trump and Trumpism.”

The eyes of the country are on the Commonwealth of Virginia. As they should be. We are a wall against Trump and Trumpism.

— Mike Signer (@MikeSigner) November 7, 2017

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was projected to win the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Ed Gillespie in a major victory for Democrats.

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Gillespie adopted similar techniques to Trump during the race, focusing on identity politics and issues like immigration. He blasted Northam on “sanctuary cities” and ran ads featuring his support for Confederate monuments throughout the state.

Northam, who led in a series of polls in the state carried by Hillary Clinton last year, called Gillespie’s campaign “divisive” and “fear-mongering.” Northam countered with ads seeking to link Gillespie to Trump, particularly in Northern Virginia, which voted overwhelmingly for Clinton.

Signer was a strong critic of Trump following the deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August. Signer ripped Trump for his response to the clash, which left one person dead and dozens injured, in which Trump blamed “many sides” for the violence.

“People are dying, and I do think that it’s now on the president and on all of us to say enough is enough. This [white nationalist] movement has run its course,” Signer said at the time.