WASHINGTON _ A liberal activist group on Thursday labeled Ralph Northam's campaign "racist," criticizing the Virginia Democrat running for governor a day after he declared that he would not support "sanctuary cities" for undocumented immigrants.
"Let's be really clear: If Ralph Northam wins next Tuesday, it won't be because he publicly backtracked on his commitment to protecting immigrant families, but in spite of it," said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, a grassroots progressive activist group based in Vermont.
Chamberlain went on to say the Northam campaign was running "the same old, broken and racist playbook that lost Democrats over 1,000 elected offices since 2008."
The statement, issued Thursday night, drew a swift and strong rebuke from many Democrats and liberals, including Democracy for America's founder, Howard Dean, who blasted the statement as "incredibly stupid" and one that "discredits" the group.
But it highlighted the pressure now facing many Democratic candidates, who must choose between adopting a politically controversial position _ support for sanctuary cities _ or risking the wrath of the party's increasingly vocal liberal faction.
It also comes in the same week as a new TV ad from the Latino Victory Project, which showed a pickup truck adorned with a Confederate flag chasing down young children of color. The controversial ad has become the talk of the Virginia gubernatorial race, with Democrats nervous that its message has slowed Northam's momentum in a race many expected he would win.
In an interview, a DFA spokesman defended the group's criticism of Northam's campaign, saying Democrats face both a moral and political imperative to stand up to President Donald Trump.
"In an era where you have a bigot running the federal government, and someone like Jeff Sessions in charge of the Justice Department, you cannot stand up to racism and hate if you're not, at every opportunity, standing up for struggling immigrants being threatened by the federal government," said Neil Sroka, DFA spokesman.
Sroka declined to say if his group would call any Democratic candidate who opposed sanctuary cities a "racist." DFA's job, he said, is "not to run around labeling people racist willy nilly."
But in this case, the group felt compelled _ and reserves the right to do so with other Democratic candidates.
"We're not going to shy away from it either," Sroka said. "We have a moral responsibility to do it."
On Wednesday, Northam told a Virginia TV station that he would sign legislation banning sanctuary cities, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The issue has been an explosive one in Northam's race against Republican Ed Gillespie, who has run a series of TV ads criticizing the Democrat over the policy.
DFA (and many Democrats) considers Gillespie's ads racist. But Sroka said the group still felt compelled to speak out against Northam because Democrats need to realize that, politically speaking, defending the rights of minorities is essential.
"Given how important and essential black and brown communities are to Democrats, isn't it important to be a candidate who stands with those communities unequivocally when they're under threat?" Sroka asked. "That should be the question to any candidate running for office."
He added: "Until we fully absorb that the strength of this party is in black and brown and progressive white voters ...we are going to have a very difficult time winning elections."
In its statement, DFA also announced it had ended its assistance to Northam's campaign.
Despite the controversies, Northam's campaign has a small but significant lead in most polling. The election is Tuesday.
