“Ralph Northam made statues an issue in this campaign when he called for taking them all down. He made sanctuary cities an issue when he voted against banning them. And he made blanket restoration of rights an issue when he called it one of the administration’s greatest feats,” said Gillespie spokesman David Abrams. “Now his campaign is upset that we are highlighting legitimate policy differences while he does nothing but launch character smears against Ed.”

Quentin Kidd, director of Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy, said the Gillespie team is looking for a way to overcome the small lead Northam has had in recent polls, and it appears a mixture of immigration, Confederate statues and crime fits the bill.

“The Gillespie team wants to find something to put Northam on the defensive,” Kidd said, adding that the fliers are likely targeted to the Trump-Stewart wing of the Republican base and undecided voters leaning toward Northam.