Virginia gov's race: Campaign charged with racial overtones

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Political observers say Virginia's race for governor has become one of the state's most racially charged campaigns in recent memory.

Shaped by President Donald Trump's moves to crack down on immigration and a deadly white nationalist rally over Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, the contest's most notable feature has been its bare-knuckled rhetoric on issues involving race, made by both candidates and their allies.

Republican Ed Gillespie has built his campaign on preserving the state's Confederate statues and enacting tougher policies toward immigrants in the state illegally. Democrat Ralph Northam, for his part, is lumping Gillespie in with white supremacists.

The tone of the nation's only competitive gubernatorial race this year is all the more notable because the outcome could hinge on minority turnout.