The Democratic primary for Virginia governor figures to be a bellweather and a referendum on President Donald Trump and his policies, The Hill reported.
Which candidate can bash Trump louder, and will that have the intended effect of energizing the state's liberal base?
Insurgent Rep. Tom Perriello thinks so.
"It's pretty clear that Perriello is shaping his campaign as very much an anti-Trump campaign," Geoffrey Skelley, a political scientist at the University of Virginia told The Hill.
Perriello is taking on Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, thought to be the Democrat's choice in the election.
"And while Ralph Northam has plenty to say about Donald Trump, at the end of day, I don't feel his rhetoric is aimed so much at the national picture as Perriello's is," Skelley told The Hill.
Political analysts believe the result of the primary — and the impending general — will serve as a preview of what to expect across the country in the 2018 midterms.
"It's almost always held true that Virginia is an early warning sign of what to expect in swing districts and swing states across the country in the midterms," Jesse Ferguson, a former Hillary Clinton campaign spokesman told The Hill.
Current Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is termed out and not eligible to run for reelection.
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