(Steve Helber/Associated Press)By embracing Confederate symbols and flirting with the alt-right, Corey Stewart seems, to many political analysts, to be handing the GOP nomination for Virginia governor to rival Ed Gillespie. Some also think Stewart is damaging the Republican brand in a way that could hurt Gillespie’s chances in November — in a general election that could reverberate beyond the Old Dominion. “It’s the Bush family and other establishment Republicans who hurt the Republican brand so badly that we got Barack Obama,” he said. Abbi Sigler, a spokeswoman for Gillespie, declined to comment on Stewart’s campaign or Democratic criticism of his silence. This is not something that is even remotely reasonable.”But Chris LaCivita, a top adviser at the RNC for the Trump campaign, does not think Stewart’s Confederate antics will do any lasting damage.

Source: Washington Post May 06, 2017 21:31 UTC