New polling from Roanoke College shows approval for Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is on the rise. He’s up to a 37-percent approval rating, that’s a 5-point uptick since February after a racist photo was discovered on his medical school yearbook page.
When Governor Ralph Northam spoke at the 400th commemoration of the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia. He referenced his own learning, over the past few months, as he’s met with people around the state to discuss racial inequity.
“I have learned a great deal from those discussions, and I have more to learn. But I also learned the more I know the more I can do,” said Northam to applause.
Since the blackface incident the Governor has announced efforts to reduce racial disparities in maternal mortality, hire a director of diversity, and review how Virginia schools teach African-American history.
Ravi Perry, chair of political science at Howard University, says the Governor has done a decent job of turning the page.
“Ultimately he is doing a lot of the things that low-income communities, people of color, women, LGBTQ folks, in fact desire in the Commonwealth,” says Perry.
That doesn’t mean people are enthusiastic about the Governor. His approval rating is still about 20-percentage-points lower than it was before the scandal. Perry suggests voters are waiting him out. His term is over in 2021.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
