In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said he wanted Confederate monuments around the state to be taken down. | AP Photo Democratic gubernatorial candidates plunge into Confederate fight

The white supremacist march that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, is spurring a wave of Democratic governors and gubernatorial candidates to call for Confederate monuments in their states to come down.

The push offers Democrats an opportunity to take on President Donald Trump and mobilize the base ahead of the 2018 elections — though some strategists say the focus should be on bread-and-butter issues rather than a revived culture war.


Democratic candidates in Maryland, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico and Tennessee have all called for Confederate statues or icons to be taken down. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted last week that he had asked the secretary of the Army to "remove confederate names from the streets of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn." In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said he wanted Confederate monuments around the state to be taken down. And in Montana, Gov. Steve Bullock hailed the Helena City Council's decision to remove a Confederate memorial fountain from a park there.

Tennessee Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean said the events in Charlottesville created an opportunity for a wider discussion about Confederate monuments.

"I think this discussion or this issue has been present for many years. The events in Charlottesville have kind of brought it to the forefront," Dean said in an interview with POLITICO. A former mayor of Nashville, Dean wants a bust of Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in the State Capitol building to be placed in a museum.

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For Democratic candidates running for governor, there's a powerful incentive to make the Confederate monument argument a top talking point. It’s increasingly the dominant position within the party, and it contrasts sharply with Trump, who has blasted efforts to take down Confederate statues at a news conference and on Twitter.

In Florida, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum sent out a fundraising email based off of Trump's comments.

"He said it's 'sad' and 'foolish' that 'beautiful' Confederate monuments are being taken down around the country," King wrote in the email, recounting Trump's remarks. "I don't think it's 'sad' or 'foolish' — I think it's about time. These relics of an anti-American ideology should be removed and transferred to museums, cemeteries, or other places where they're not revered or celebrated."

But some Democratic strategists worry that focusing too much on Confederate statues will alienate some voters and distract from the “Better Deal” platform congressional Democratic leaders are promoting.

"I don't want to fall into the trap again where we're just focusing on the Trump negatives heading into 2018, as opposed to providing a better way, as this plan does," said Kevin Walling, a Democratic strategist who works with HGC Digital.

Simply attacking Trump probably won't bring Democrats satisfying results in the midterm elections, added Jake Dilemani, a Democratic strategist who works at Mercury LLC.

“To say that Trump is racist and incompetent and that the Republican Party is complicit in that is likely not enough to get the results that people want to see in 2018,” Dilemani said.

Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said it is important for communities to feel open and welcoming to everyone, but that his fellow Democrats shouldn’t let a debate about Confederate monuments eclipse other topics.

"I wish we could be talking about investing in education and health care that helps white working-class people who feel like opportunity is slipping through their fingers," he said. "Those are the things that make life better for everyone across the spectrum. And, yes, when you end up talking about things like this, you're diverting away from those real issues that concern people every day while raising a family.”

But not addressing Charlottesville or Trump’s remarks can also expose candidates to a potent line of attack, said North Carolina Democratic strategist Morgan Jackson.

"Look at Charlottesville. If you don’t condemn Trump’s behavior and you’re running for governor as a Republican, you give Nazis the benefit of the doubt, you’re going to get hit — and get hit hard, you’re going to have to pay for that," Jackson said.

Staying silent on Charlottesville or Trump's response isn't a neutral position, said former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, who also served in the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama administrations.

"If you don't say anything, that's taking a stand. If you don't take a stand on what Trump said, if you don't take a stand on these monuments, that's taking a position," Mabus said. "I guess my political argument would be the people that vote against a candidate for that position, I'd say the chances were pretty slim that they would vote for that candidate for anything."

Dean brushed off the prospect of political consequences when asked whether he might lose votes for calling for the Forrest bust to be moved to a museum.

"If we learned anything from this last weekend, it's that we need to bring people together, we need to not hide our heads in the sand and say these issues don't exist, because they do,” he said. “I'm not saying I don't think about political consequences, but it's the right thing to do.”