1. The media portrays Christie as a negative person and an unreliable leader. He makes mistakes and some sites say that he's all an act. He has used and made unofficial decisions that led to bad choices all around New Jersey
2. Examine one the the issues in the race. How do the stances between candidates compare?
2.1. Phil Murphy
2.1.1. Phil seems to agree with his opponent on a surprising amount of issues. They both want to tackle the Opioid Epidemic, invest in the transit system, and getting youth employed.
2.2. Ed gillespie
2.2.1. Ed Gillespie and Ralph Northam almost agree on the issue of gun control. Ralph Northam does agree with the right to carry, but he wants to make it illegal to conceal carry while Ed Gillespie is just open for owning guns.
3. What are the greatest strengths or most glaring weaknesses of each individual relative to one another?
3.1. Chris Christie
3.1.1. Christie is portrayed very negatively online, whereas people view McAuliffe as the better leader and would make a better president. McAuliffe tends to address situations prior to tragedies but emphasize post tragedy as well. For example he was issued to sign the legislature for gun control, but the process sped up after the Las Vegas shooting. Christie does address situations just like McAuliffe, but he doesn't find a way to resolve the situation.
4. How has media influenced coverage of the candidate running or the incumbent in office? In what ways have you seen the bias
4.1. Ed Gillespie
4.1.1. The media has been a very big part of the election. There have been lots of commercials and they have mainly been negative from both sides towards each other. Both candidates have been attacking each other more than they have been promoting their own ideas.
4.2. Terry McAuliffe
4.2.1. Terry McAuliffe reaches a larger audience due to his several social media, including an official Virginians governors twitter, as well as a personal account to reach out to a larger demographic.
4.3. Ralph Northam
4.3.1. The media has influenced the race from media ads and campaign ads to news stories.Both Gillespie and Northam have released ads that have bashed the other candidate.Also the media has released stories that show more negative then positive about one or the other candidate.Such as the Washington post has released more stories that are more favorable to Northam.
4.4. Kim Guadagno
4.4.1. Most of the information about Kim is on not only her own webpage, but also on many news websites. People also still use newspapers as well as the internet to get the word out. Some websites such as ABC, which is more democratically biased, would not feature Kim's better traits compared to Phil Murphy.
4.5. Social media portrays Terry McAuliffe in a very positive way. He is displayed as a man with good intentions and addresses issues that are not brought to light by the president. This has caused several unofficial informal online polls and petitions regarding nominating McAuliffe to run for head of the executive branch.
5. How much change would the candidate represent for the state if they were elected?
5.1. Ralph northam
5.1.1. If Ralph Northman is elected the change he could bring to Virginia could be very big for the state of Virginia and it could also affect the federal government. If elected he would pass Medicare funding that would provide 400,000 more Virginians Medicare coverage. He would also stand up against Donald trump I terms of Medicare laws and gun laws.
5.2. Phil Murphy
5.2.1. As a Democrat, Phil Murphy plans to implement and support more programs that benefit women and minority groups. He also plans to make higher education more accessible. This would likely create a notable shift in how the colleges and universities are run.
5.3. Ed Gillespie
5.3.1. If Ed Gillespie was elected was to win the election there could be some major changes. Medical care and assistance would be more accessible to everyone and as he mentioned he would work harder to take care of senior aged people. He would make them one of his primary issues.
5.4. Kim Guadagno
5.4.1. Because the previous governor for New Jersey was Chris Christie, who was republican, the political stance of the governor would not change. Kim Guadagno was also Chris Christie's first lieutenant governor, so the public is currently familiar with her. Although she tried not to associate herself or compare herself to Chris, they did have some stance opinions in common such as how to oversee gun laws.
6. Has the federal government influenced the nature/dynamics of the race at all?
6.1. Phil Murphy
6.1.1. The election of Donald Trump has caused Phil to push more left-wing ideals.
6.2. Ralph northam
6.2.1. Yes the federal government has influenced the election.Donald trump and the white house want Ed Gillespie to with so they have been more supporting of Gillespie and are helping to promote his campaign.President Trump has also attacked Northam via tweets on twitter.
6.3. Kim Guadagno
6.3.1. At the beginning of 2017, president Trump was elected into office for the Republican party. While New Jersey was having their governor's race, Virginia was also having theirs. Pres. Trump put more funding and donations into Ed Gillespie's campaign instead of Kim, so that may have harmed her rep, putting her in less favor of the public