General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: In 18 years since Naders run, what has been accomplished by attacking the Dem party from the left? [View all]Demsrule86
(68,347 posts)by McAuliffe and other prominent Democrats in Virginia...I dislike Perriello because of his anti-choice votes (social justice issue). Although, it should be noted to be fair that Perriello has rescinded his anti-choice views and apologized for voting for the Stupak amendment during the healthcare fight.
Perriello also had less money than Northam which certainly hurt him. He won the backing of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and thirty former Obama staffers. The primary was seen in some quarters as a continuation of the 2016 primary fight (Base vs insurgent left). I don't think it was. In this case 'all politics were local'. Northam was a better candidate.
In order to win, Perriello needed new voters (mostly young) to turn out and they didn't. The rallies were well attended but not as many actually voted. Perriello failed to get his vote out. Northam did a better job getting out the vote; established Democratic voters who always vote Democratic (the base) turned out... this enabled Northam to win by almost 12 points .