It is also being seen as a major repudiation of President Trump and his beliefs, though there is often a tendency to read too much into local and state elections. The term “Trumpism” gained steam during Donald Trump’s rise to the highest office in the land and has come to encapsulate his “America First” philosophy. The Republican candidate for Virginia’s governorship, former GOP National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, attempted what many have called “Trumpism Without Trump,” using tough talk about immigrants and focusing on familiar POTUS topics (Confederate monuments and NFL players kneeling) without actually invoking Trump’s name much on the campaign trail. The plan backfired—and badly—with Gillespie losing to Democrat Ralph Northam, the lieutenant governor in the outgoing Virginia leadership, by nine percentage points. That was hardly the only anti-Trump indicator in the state, though: At least 15 House of Delegates seats flipped from Republican to Democrat. A few races are still too close to call, but there’s a chance Republicans might lose their majority in the chamber for the first time since 2000. Over the last day, “Trumpism” has just a 26 percent positive score on Social, with words driving the vibe like “rejected,” “obliterated” and “lost.” –Alex Shultz
Republished from 30dB
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