A progressive group has pulled the plug on its efforts to mobilize voters on behalf of Democrat Ralph Northam in the Virginia gubernatorial race because of his stance on “sanctuary cities.”
Democracy for America, which has not endorsed Mr. Northam, but has been working to energize supporters ahead of Tuesday’s election in Virginia, said Mr. Northam showed his true colors this week when he said he would sign a ban on sanctuaries if elected governor.
Mr. Northam maintains that he has consistently opposed sanctuary cities, and opposed legislative efforts to crack down on those localities last year because they don’t exist in Virginia.
“Ralph Northam’s gutless, politically senseless, and morally debased decision yesterday to openly backtrack on his commitment to standing up for immigrant families is a picture-perfect example of why Democracy for America never endorsed him in the primary and focused the entirety of our efforts in Virginia on down-ticket races, like Justin Fairfax’s campaign for Lieutenant Governor,” said Charles Chamberlain, DFA’s executive director. “It’s also why, today, we’re announcing that we will no longer do any work to directly aid Northam’s gubernatorial efforts.”
The pushback came after Mr. Northam said in an interview that if elected, he would sign a bill banning sanctuary cities, which DFA viewed as a flip-flop.
Ed Gillespie, his GOP opponent in the gubernatorial race, agrees with Mr. Northam that Virginia does not have sanctuaries, but said he would support a ban to make sure they do not emerge in the future.
He says Mr. Northam is not showing leadership on the issue.
DFA expressed outrage.
“Public dithering on basic issues of racial justice, like the need to protect immigrant families targeted by a bigoted federal government, isn’t just morally bankrupt, it’s precisely why many black, brown, and progressive white voters that should make up the base of reliable Democratic voters don’t believe Democratic candidates have their backs and sit out elections,” Mr. Chamberlain said.
Del. Alfonso Lopez, a Democrat, defended Mr. Northam, saying he has “always fought for the commonwealth to have immigration policies that are fair and compassionate” and saying the lieutenant governor “hasn’t changed his positions.”
“He opposes deputizing the state and local police to take on the duties of federal immigration agents,” Mr. Lopez said. “He opposed localities having to hold undocumented Virginians longer than prescribed by warrant, statute, or a judge’s order. He has also consistently supported protecting undocumented immigrants so that they can report crimes and assist law enforcement without the fear of being interrogated about their immigration status.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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