RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Vice President Mike Pence will be campaigning in southwest Virginia this week with Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie.
Gillespie spokesman David Abrams says Pence and Gillespie will appear at a rally Saturday in Abingdon. It will be Pence's first campaign event for Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman who is facing Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.
The race is one of only two off-year gubernatorial contests in November, and it's being viewed as a possible early referendum on President Donald Trump's first year in office and a preview of the 2018 midterm elections.
Pence's visit will come about a week after Trump weighed in on the race for the first time. The president took to Twitter to criticize Northam and urge voters to support Gillespie.
Debate
WISE, Va. (AP) - The two major party candidates in Virginia's closely watched race for governor are set for their third and final debate.
Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam will debate Monday evening at the University of Virginia at Wise.
The southwest Virginia debate comes a month before Election Day in a year when only two states are electing new governors.
Southwest Virginia, home to the state's economically depressed coal country, went heavily for Trump, and Gillespie will likely need similar support to win.
