Without campaigning, Trump shapes races for governor

RICHMOND, Va. — Candidates in the country’s only two races for governor are in the final sprint before an Election Day that promises to illustrate how much — or how little — things have changed in the age of Trump.

The Nov. 7 races in New Jersey and Virginia are the first gubernatorial contests since President Donald Trump’s surprise victory last year. The president has shaped both contests without campaigning in either, but the final effect is still unclear.

Will anti-Trump energy trigger more votes for Democrats? Will Trump supporters turn out for moderate Republicans who keep the president at arm’s length but run hard-edged attacks on social issues such as so-called “sanctuary cities?”

Swing-state Virginia is expected to be the much closer race, with most polls showing Republican Ed Gillespie within striking distance of Democrat Ralph Northam. Virginia is the only Southern state the president didn’t win.

Gillespie rarely mentions Trump and downplayed his twitter endorsement. But Gillespie has tried to excite Trump supporters with sharp-elbowed ads on immigration and Confederate statues while also appealing to the more moderate with a focus on taxes and other pocketbook issues.

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Northam has gotten little love from some in the party’s liberal wing who enthusiastically backed his populist opponent, former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello in the primary. And some Northam supporters worry the low-key pediatric neurologist fails to excite minority voters who are crucial to Democratic success in Virginia but often drop away in off-year elections.

In New Jersey, Democrat Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and Obama administration ambassador to Germany, holds a double-digit lead over Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

A liberal who supports hiking the minimum wage to $15 hourly and taxing millionaires at a higher rate, Murphy has relentlessly saddled Guadagno with two-term GOP Gov. Chris Christie.

Guadagno has tried to focus on cutting taxes and banning so-called “sanctuary cities,” a vague term generally signifying communities that limit cooperation with federal immigration activities.