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You are here: Home / State House / Inside Ralph Northam’s Plot for Survival

Inside Ralph Northam’s Plot for Survival

February 8, 2019 at 7:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Left for dead a week ago after his disastrous handling of his history with blackface, the Democratic Virginia governor is quietly plotting a survival strategy. He’s conferring with sympathetic Republican lawmakers and has hired a crisis manager who’s decamped to Richmond from Washington.”

“And as the state capitol descended into pandemonium this week after two other statewide Democrats faced their own scandals — episodes that could, ironically, help Northam’s chances of remaining in office — the governor sought counsel from pastors and worked to persuade his top staff not to bail.”

“Northam’s work to salvage his political career represents a remarkable — and quite possibly uncharted — attempt at survival for an embattled politician. It reflects how President Trump’s election after the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape has changed the calculus for other lawmakers staring down the political abyss in 2019.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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