Former Virginia congressman Tom Perriello speaks at a rally announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia in Charlottesville on Jan. 5. (Steve Helber/AP)

The crowd had gathered down the hill from the Virginia State Capitol building to cheer for Obamacare, but what they got was the first public glimpse of the race for the Democratic nomination for governor.

The event was one of several pro-Affordable Care Act rallies staged by Democrats around the country, this one featuring Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.

Before the big names spoke, though, Democratic candidates got a chance to warm up the crowd. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who party leaders had hoped would glide unopposed to the nomination, shared the bill for the first time with his unexpected rival, former congressman Tom Perriello of Charlottesville, who announced his candidacy just 10 days ago.

[A surprise candidate shakes up Virginia’s governor’s race]

Northam was the hometown favorite — even though he hails from Virginia’s Eastern Shore, he has the support of McAuliffe and many Democrats in the General Assembly. Northam stickers weren’t hard to find in a crowd that organizers estimated at 1,000. Campaign staffers handed out blue Northam signs, and McAuliffe, when he spoke, mentioned the lieutenant governor several times.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, right, gestures during a news conference as his wife, Dorothy, and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, left, listen at the Capitol in Richmond on Jan. 10. At a pro-Obamacare rally in Richmond on Sunday, McAuliffe indicated his support for Northam in the state’s upcoming gubernatorial nomination race. (Steve Helber/AP)

There was no such visible support for the fledgling Perriello campaign.

To be fair, though, it wasn’t hard to find people in the wildly partisan Democratic crowd who were unfamiliar with both men.

Northam spoke first, and he had put a white doctor’s coat over his dress shirt and tie.

“Is he a dentist or a physician or something?” Nancy Langston, 72, a retired health-care worker, said to her friend.

Northam is, in fact, a pediatric neurologist. He’s known for being good in one-on-one conversations but less energetic in public forums. In this case, with the crowd hungry for red meat, he did his best to deliver while also introducing himself.

“As you know, I am the lieutenant governor of Virginia, but I’m also a doctor,” he said, then described his medical training. It wasn’t quite what the crowd was looking for, but he built to a crescendo: “There is no excuse in the wealthiest country in this world that there are folks in our country that don’t have access to see a provider. That is unacceptable.”

He went on to list benefits of the Affordable Care Act and put in a plug for expanding Medicaid in Virginia. “I want you to know that I will continue to lead the fight to make sure that all Virginians have access to affordable and quality health care, and I hope that you will join me in the fight!”

Perriello took the microphone next and quickly got a big cheer when he thanked the crowd for “coming out and saying we will never go back to when insurance companies can say being a woman is a preexisting condition.” He didn’t spend much time introducing himself, but he highlighted the fact that during his brief time in Congress he was able to vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act.

He praised Northam as a “great lieutenant governor” and then got a huge response when he turned his attention to his Republican “brothers and sisters” in Congress. “Sometimes it is worth doing the right thing even if there is a political price to pay for it,” he said in a hushed voice.

Drawing shouts of approval from the crowd, Perriello said his father told him to remember one thing in politics: “Election Day is not as important as Judgment Day. And what I can pass along to my Republican brothers and sisters today is, this is one of those chances to do what’s right.”

After both men spoke, some watchers said they were pleased to at least know who is running for their party’s nomination.

Langston said she hasn’t paid much attention to the race yet; before the speeches, she didn’t recognize either candidate. Their performances were impressive, she said, “but it didn’t tell me who to vote for.”

Jon Sheridan, 39, a professor from Richmond, said he was partial to Perriello because he had volunteered for Perriello’s congressional campaign when he lived in Charlottesville. But he thought both men performed well at the rally and said a healthy primary contest this June would leave the party in better shape to take on Republicans in the fall.

Four candidates are vying for the Republican nomination: strategist Ed Gillespie, Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart, state Sen. Frank Wagner (Virginia Beach) and businessman Denver Riggleman.

Tracy Labin, 54, a financial analyst from Henrico County, said she was familiar with Northam but, like several others in the crowd after a long event that featured many politicians, couldn’t quite recall which one had been Perriello.

“I saw he just threw his hat in last week. I think I saw he said he was going to shake it up or something,” she said. “I don’t know anything about him yet.”

