The race for Virginia’s governor heated up last month, and the state’s largest industrial employer finally weighed in on who it would financially support.
On Sept. 12, Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam’s campaign reported receiving a $25,000 check from Newport News Shipbuilding – the sole builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the United States and the largest private employer in Hampton Roads. Only the Defense Department employs more people in the area that’s home to all five branches of the military.
It was a corporate vote of confidence for the Persian Gulf War veteran and longtime Norfolk children’s doctor. After all, the company’s recently retired president, Matthew Mulherin, and its executive vice president of communications, Jerri Dickseski, had already written personal checks totaling $5,000 to Northam’s campaign.
But just eight days later, Republican political consultant Ed Gillespie’s campaign also reported receiving $25,000 from the shipbuilder, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks money in politics.
