The unexpectedly strong showing by Democrats in Virginia is being viewed as a repudiation of President Donald Trump, according to CNN’s Jake Tapper.
“Democrats have not had a good night in a long time and this is going to be good for them,” Tapper told Wolf Blitzer during CNN’s election night coverage.
“It has to be seen to a degree as a rejection of President Trump, who is the strongest prevailing political figure in the country,” Tapper explained.
Exit polls from Virginia and New Jersey showed a 2:1 and 3:1 margin of opposition to President Trump over support.
Tapper noted how Republican Ed Gillepsie transformed from an establishment candidate to a cultural warrior who campaigned on divisive issues despite the August murder of Heather Heyer by a white supremacist.
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“It’s just one state, it’s a Democratic leaning state, this is not the entire nation, but it’s a good night for Democrats and I think a rejection to a degree of Trump and, perhaps even more than Trump, Trumpism,” Tapper concluded.