A new negative ad aimed at Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie came from a Latino group concerned that Democrat Ralph Northam wasn't getting enough support from Latinos
Ed Gillespie
A television ad depicting minority children running from a pickup truck sporting a bumper sticker for Virginia Republican Ed Gillespie  is designed to criticize the gubernatorial candidate’s ties to President Trump — and to address concerns that Democratic candidate Ralph Northam is struggling to connect with minority voters  according to people familiar with the strategy.
 The ad  was removed late Tuesday after a terrorism attack in New York City involved a pickup truck running down people on a bike path.
But before  it  was removed   it  was designed to appeal to Latino voters. Public polling shows Northam easily beating Gillespie among black and Latino voters  but a recent private poll shared widely among minority advocacy groups sparked worry about the Democrat’s appeal. Northam’s campaign urged the groups not to release the poll’s findings  according to multiple people familiar with the matter — a point not disputed by his campaign.
In the weeks since the poll was conducted  progressive groups have worked to tie  Gillespie  to Trump  whose approval rating among Latinos nationwide hovers in the teens. They worry that if  Gillespie  wins   his  campaign ads — which raised concerns about illegal immigration and “sanctuary cities” and voiced support for Confederate-era monuments — could be replicated nationwide next year by GOP candidates eager to turn out conservative voters.
Seeking to shore up support among younger and Latino voteres  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) campaigned for Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie  spotted to Rubio’s right in the background  on Oct. 30  2017  in Sterling Va. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
Alex’s group produced the new ad  “American Nightmare ” which features four young children — two Latino boys  an African American child and a Muslim girl wearing a headscarf — running from a white man driving a pickup truck adorned with the  Gillespie  sticker and a Confederate flag. The truck chases the children through a suburban neighborhood into a dead-end alley — at which point the children awake from a bad dream.
[Ad features minority kids chased by truck adorned with  Gillespie  sticker  Confederate flag]
[How Ed Gillespie went from ‘big tent’ Republican to culture warrior]
A Washington Post-Schar School poll released Tuesday did not poll enough Latino voters to generate a measurable sample. But among nonwhite voters overall  Northam leads  Gillespie  73 percent to 17 percent — similar to Clinton’s margins in Virginia last year. Other statewide polls conducted last month by the Wason Center and Fox News showed Northam trouncing  Gillespie  among nonwhite voters.
[ Gillespie  appears with Sen. Rubio as protesters accuse him of racism]
“Ed Gillespie talks about us  he demonizes us with divisive and racist language  calling us criminals ” an announcer says in Spanish. “Let’s not allow Trump’s policies in Virginia.”
[Obama rips into  Gillespie ’s MS-13 ads  calls them “as cynical as politics gets”]
[TGT]is designed to criticize the gubernatorial candidate’s ties to President Trump — and to address concerns that Democratic candidate Ralph Northam is struggling to connect with minority voters  according to people familiar with the strategy.
 [TGT]was removed late Tuesday after a terrorism attack in New York City involved a pickup truck running down people on a bike path.
But before  [TGT]  was removed   [TGT]  was designed to appeal to Latino voters. Public polling shows Northam easily beating [TGT] among black and Latino voters  but a recent private poll shared widely among minority advocacy groups sparked worry about the Democrat’s appeal. Northam’s campaign urged the groups not to release the poll’s findings  according to multiple people familiar with the matter — a point not disputed by his campaign.
In the weeks since the poll was conducted  progressive groups have worked to tie  Gillespie  to Trump  whose approval rating among Latinos nationwide hovers in the teens. They worry that if  Gillespie  wins   his  campaign ads — which raised concerns about illegal immigration and “sanctuary cities” and voiced support for Confederate-era monuments — could be replicated nationwide next year by GOP candidates eager to turn out conservative voters.
Seeking to shore up support among younger and Latino voteres  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) campaigned for Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie  spotted to Rubio’s right in the background  on Oct. 30  2017  in Sterling Va. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
Alex’s group produced the new ad  “American Nightmare ” which features four young children — two Latino boys  an African American child and a Muslim girl wearing a headscarf — running from a white man driving a pickup truck adorned with the  Gillespie  sticker and a Confederate flag. The truck chases the children through a suburban neighborhood into a dead-end alley — at which point the children awake from a bad dream.
[Ad features minority kids chased by truck adorned with  Gillespie  sticker  Confederate flag]
[How Ed Gillespie went from ‘big tent’ Republican to culture warrior]
A Washington Post-Schar School poll released Tuesday did not poll enough Latino voters to generate a measurable sample. But among nonwhite voters overall  Northam leads  Gillespie  73 percent to 17 percent — similar to Clinton’s margins in Virginia last year. Other statewide polls conducted last month by the Wason Center and Fox News showed Northam trouncing  Gillespie  among nonwhite voters.
[TGT][TGT] demonizes us with divisive and racist language  calling us criminals ” an announcer says in Spanish. “Let’s not allow Trump’s policies in Virginia.”
[Obama rips into  Gillespie ’s MS-13 ads  calls them “as cynical as politics gets”]