Story highlights The Virginia gubernatorial race is the first statewide competitive contest since Trump was elected

The outcome could influence both Republican and Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterm elections

(CNN) President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican Ed Gillespie in the Virginia gubernatorial race. But the candidate appears to go out of his way to avoid mentioning his most prominent supporter.

Trump's endorsement isn't mentioned anywhere on Gillespie's campaign website or his social media pages. Gillespie doesn't discuss Trump unless he's prompted to do so. He doesn't criticize the President, but he also doesn't make an effort to embrace him, either.

In fact, when Trump tweeted his support for Gillespie earlier this month, neither the candidate nor his campaign acknowledged the President's support until they were asked about it by reporters. Meanwhile, his opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, not only retweeted Trump's tweet , he used it as an opportunity to fundraise for his campaign. (Trump backed Gillespie on Twitter again late Saturday afternoon, after this story was first published, and the candidate's account retweeted him .)

A path to statewide victory for a Republican in Virginia, which hasn't happened since 2009, requires the GOP to run up numbers with its base and win over as many independent voters as possible. At a time when Trump's poll numbers are lagging, it's difficult to have it both ways -- few voters are ambivalent about the President, and as a result, it's tough to embrace him fully or reject him outright.

Gillespie is hoping it can be done.

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