Michael Bloomberg just made Virginia's governor race a referendum on gun control

Via Billy

Michael Bloomberg is hoping to ride to the rescue of Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam two weeks ahead of the Virginia governor’s race.

Everytown for Gun Safety, one the foremost gun control groups in America that is bankrolled by the former New York City mayor, will drop another $400,000 in the election after an earlier $1 million commitment, the Washington Post reports. That makes the race very much a referendum on gun control.

While the Bloomberg cash could rile up the Democratic base and bring Northam victory, it could just as easily backfire and deliver a win for Republican Ed Gillespie. Without new voters to win over, the race is about getting reliable voters to the polls.

Right now the race is all tied up, and Gillespie has the momentum. While polling from Monmouth University has the race deadlocked at 48 percent to 47 percent, the Republican is surging in more conservative, rural Virginia and gaining ground in Northam’s home region of Eastern Virginia.