VIRGINIA CLOSE – AT 11:41 A.M. ET:   The quality of news reporting  being what it is, we're hearing very little about next Tuesday's elections, which include the mayoralty election in New York and the governorship choice in Virginia.

The New York election is a foregone conclusion.  As usual, the almost invisible Republican Party has barely run a campaign, giving hard leftist Mayor Bill de Blasio an automatic second term.  No one can remember anything he did during his first.

The Virginia race is major.  Virginia is currently governed by Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and old Clinton hand.  The Dems would love to hold onto the governor's office in a state that went for Clinton by about five points last year.  But the election is unexpectedly close.  From WaPo: 

One week from Election Day, Democrat Ralph Northam’s lead has narrowed to five percentage points in the Virginia governor’s race, with Republican Ed Gillespie closing a motivation gap and consolidating support among conservatives and supporters of President Trump, a new Washington Post-Schar School poll finds.

Northam, the state’s lieutenant governor, leads among likely voters 49 percent to Gillespie’s 44 percent, a margin that is not statistically significant. The Democrat was up by 13 points in a Post poll earlier this month. Libertarian Cliff Hyra is at 4 percent, enough to play spoiler if the race remains tight through Tuesday.

COMMENT:  A few polls show Gillespie ahead, but other polls show Northam ahead.  Turnout will be the key.  If Republicans can turn Virginia, it will be a major political event.  This is by far the most important contest next Tuesday.

November 2, 2017