Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam has faced challenges rallying the Democratic voter base, as one voter exemplified Tuesday on MSNBC’s "Meet the Press Daily."
Host Chuck Todd described concerns about enthusiasm among the Democratic base before introducing Northam voter Paula McCommons. She hesitated when an NBC reporter asked her if Northam excited her, and instead, she said her motivation was loyalty to the party and opposition to President Donald Trump.
"Are you excited about Northam or is it just that he's the Democrat?" the reporter asked.
"Actually, I am not excited about him," McCommons said. "It's purely a vote for the Democratic Party, to make sure that there is driving force against the president."
"It's not what you would call ‘enthusiastic’ there," Todd said in response to the clip.
Todd also brought up former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile’s book Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House. The book was leaked last week and came out Tuesday, and it has driven negative news for the Democratic Party as a whole.
"On top of that, Donna Brazile’s tell-all is dividing folks all across the country pretty much at the worse possible time," Todd said.
Brazile excerpted part of her book to Politico last week, issuing the explosive charge that the Hillary Clinton campaign exerted control over the DNC during the presidential primary. Brazile has backtracked, saying Clinton’s influence on the DNC did not amount to rigging the primary against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).
Todd said political pundits are hesitant about making predictions when so many of them were wrong about voters in 2016, when Trump won a surprise victory.
"But frankly, if 2016 taught us anything it's that anything can happen on an election night, which may be why everybody is a little skittish about declaring what they think they know is going to happen in this race or any other," Todd said.
Republican candidate Ed Gillespie has gotten closer to Northam in the polls since Northam maintained a large lead early in the race.