analysis

Republican Jack Ciattarelli, left, shakes hands with Democrat Mikie Sherrill before a debate in September. The two are vying to become New Jersey’s next governor.

A large crowd elbowed into Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern to devour Buffalo wings and watch the Virginia Tech football game over the weekend, only to be repeatedly subjected to competing political advertisements for Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates.

Talk about negative politics in the United States! The ads for the two finalists for the governor’s chair were mostly about how odious the other candidate is – same as the TV spots in New Jersey, the other state holding an off-year gubernatorial race.

That, and whether Donald Trump is merely a slight drag on the Republican Party or a heavy, unbearable burden at a time when he

See Full Page