× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

While most of the political world was transfixed by the drama unfolding in Washington, Republican gubernatorial front-runner Ed Gillespie sat at a kitchen table in Richmond on Wednesday talking about policies he acknowledged were “not the most scintillating topic in the world.”

The former Republican National Committee chairman and polished political communicator had just released a detailed plan to streamline state government and make Virginia the “best managed state in the country,” a pitch laden with the 21st-century business lingo of innovation, automation and analytics.

What Gillespie didn’t want to talk about was President Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday night amid ongoing FBI scrutiny of possible ties between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives. The stunning development plunged D.C. into crisis mode and served as an early example of how Trump’s unpredictable behavior could upend Republican efforts to win back the Executive Mansion this year.

During a prescheduled conference call with reporters Wednesday morning, Gillespie said he hadn’t had time to “focus” on the Comey news. Asked about Comey again around midday after his campaign event, Gillespie, a former political consultant, demurred a second time, saying he had been “running and gunning all day” on the governor’s race.