Democrat gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam’s campaign created some fliers which elided his black running mate, Justin Fairfax, allegedly in order to please a local union.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Northam campaign flier, created for the Laborers’ International Union of North America, excluded Fairfax in order to placate the union. According to Brian Petruska, general counsel with the LIUNA Mid-Atlantic Region Organizing Coalition, the union wanted Fairfax off of the fliers because Fairfax did not complete their questionnaire and “wasn’t supporting us on the issues.”
The “issues” include Fairfax’s opposition to the EQT Midstream Partners’ Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Dominion Energy-led Atlantic Coast Pipeline, natural gas pipelines that are planned to cross Virginia.
It is most probable that Northam indeed removed Fairfax for purely political reasons. But is there any doubt that the media would pillory any Republican running for governor who removed the only statewide black Republican candidate from his campaign material?