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Article snippet: The pitched battle for Virginia’s governorship between Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie (R) has evolved into a furious effort to turn out voters loyal to each candidate’s own political party, in a state where close elections come down to only a small handful of counties. Strategists in both camps said they expect a low-turnout affair, in which about 41 percent of the state’s electorate casts a ballot, putting a premium on base mobilization over voter persuasion just hours before the polls open — and turning a once-staid contest into a brutally personal slugfest. Northam’s campaign has spent the final weeks before Election Day tying Gillespie to President Trump, and Democratic outside groups have portrayed Gillespie supporters as white supremacists sympathetic to the white nationalists who rallied in Charlottesville. Gillespie has accused Northam of voting to allow sanctuary cities — though no Virginia jurisdiction counts itself as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants — and therefore exacerbating a rising crime wave fueled by the MS-13 gang. Both pitches are aimed squarely at firing up the two sides’ respective bases. “We’re two one-party states,” said Tom Davis, a former Republican congressman from Northern Virginia. “This comes down to who shows up their base, which is why at the end of the campaign I’m having to choose between an MS-13 member and a Nazi.” Observers in both parties are zeroing in on ... Link to the full article to read more