Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam accuses his GOP rival Ed Gillespie in a new television advertisement of refusing to stand up to President Trump on issues important to Virginia.

In the ad, Mr. Northam says he is willing to find common ground with Mr. Trump on some issues, but says he will not give him a blank check — unlike Mr. Gillespie.

“Donald Trump proposed cutting Virginia’s school funding, rolling back our clean air and water protections, and taking away health care from thousands of Virginians,” Mr. Northam says in the ad. “As a candidate for governor, I sponsored this ad because I’ve stood up to Donald Trump on all of it.”

He adds, “Ed Gillespie refuses to stand up to him at all.”

Polls have found that Mr. Northam and Mr. Gillespie are locked in a tight battle in Virginia. They are scheduled to face-off next week in their third and final debate.

Throughout the campaign Mr. Northam has pushed to link Mr. Gillespie to Mr. Trump, hoping the Republican commander-in-chief’s low approval rating in Virginia will hurt Mr. Gillespie’s chances of winning in the November election.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.