Vice President Mike Pence flew into Virginia to throw his weight behind Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie.
The Washington Post reports Pence stumped at the Washington County Fairgrounds in southwest Virginia on Saturday telling a half-filled exhibition hall, "The president sent me here to ask the people of Virginia to do everything in your power to elect Ed Gillespie as your next governor of Virginia."
The coal-county constituents came out in droves for Trump during the election last year, giving him 75 percent of the vote.
Establishment figure Gillespie is in a neck-and-neck race against Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.
Theirs is the nation's only competitive governor's race this year.
Some see the race as a possible early referendum on Trump and a preview of next year's congressional midterm elections.
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