In the three-way Republican primary, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie held a narrow lead over Corey Stewart, a Prince William County official who was Trump's Virginia campaign co-chairman before he was sacked.
On the GOP side, former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie is seen as the front runner over Prince William County Board Chairman Corey Stewart and long-time state Sen.
Northam defeated former congressman Tom Perriello, who made a surprise entrance into the race in January and ran a more liberal campaign, promising to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for social programs. Virginia's primary, he said, will show "whether a prominent Republican in a major campaign is able to separate himself in the public's mind from the unpopular policies and actions of the Trump administration, while at the same time not losing much of the Republican support a candidate is going to need to win a general election".
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have weighed in with their endorsements of Perriello while much of the state party's establishment back Northam in a contest with more than a passing similarity to the 2016 Democratic presidential contest between progressive insurgent Sanders and establishment favorite Hillary Clinton. He energized many new-to-politics voters who oppose Trump but was ultimately unable to expand the universe of Democratic primary voters enough to counter Northam's advantages.
Republican Ed Gillespie and Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam are headed for a showdown in Virginia's closely watched race for governor.
The governor's race in Virginia, a swing state where a recent Washington Post and George Mason University poll showed 59 percent of voters disapprove of Trump's performance, is shaping up as a pivotal battleground with national implications. The Democrats have moved way too far to the left - too far left for a state like Virginia.
Northam, a pediatric neurologist by training, also heavily outspent Perriello on TV, including a memorable spot where he minced no words in proclaiming that Trump was a "narcissistic maniac".
Stewart also gained attention during the primary campaign for his defense of Confederate monuments.
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Northam was joined by current Governor Terry McAuliffe at his victory party in Arlington. Statewide, Gillespie took a razor thin edge victory with 43.71 percent to the 42.53 percent total for Stewart.
Running on his decade of experience at the statehouse and ability to push pragmatic progressive change in what will likely remain a GOP-controlled General Assembly, Northam's strength with traditionally active Democratic constituencies carried him through and avoided a potentially embarrassing repudiation of Democratic leaders by the party's base.
Democrats have seen a surge in candidates for the House of Delegates this year, where they have a longshot at taking back control of the chamber from Republicans in November.
Gillespie's strength in Fairfax County seemed to be providing the edge as final returns came trickling in.
The Democrats have made elections in Virginia and Georgia a referendum on President Trump. Stewart, known better around the state for his love of Confederate memorials than his county-government work, was supposed to fizzle against Gillespie, an establishment pick who almost picked off Mark Warner's US Senate seat in 2014.
Fairfax beat longtime party activist and former lobbyist Susan Platt and former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi in Tuesday's primary.
Democrats appeared to have set a record with more than 500,000 votes cast, compared with about 350,000 in the Republican contest. Republican Ed Gillespie, who had led by double digits in polling, won by slightly more than 1 percent.
Gillespie vows to pursue "timeless conservative principles", including a 10 percent cut in state income tax rates.
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