Differences Between Ralph Northam And Ed Gillespie

The Virginia governor's race has taken a national spotlight because of the year its taking place and the divisiveness of the issues between the candidates. While cultural issues take the spotlight and are important, it is necessary to look at other issues. One of the most important debates is on what the candidates believe should be done on healthcare. Everybody will need to have health treatments at some point in their lives. There is an ongoing debate among people as to whether healthcare is a "right" or "privilege." Both Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie have differing plans on what they think will provide for the best healthcare for Virginia citizens. It is important to fully understand and analyze their ideas before deciding on who to vote

Ralph Northam, both a former army doctor and pediatric neurologist, has an extensive background in healthcare. In addition, Northam is a volunteer at Edmarc Children’s Hospice (Shreesha, Gosh). As an elected official, Northam has a history of voting for health care initiatives. When serving as a state senator in Virginia he voted for laws which prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants, smoking in cars with children, expansion of care for autism spectrum disorder and voted against laws which would prohibit health care plans sold on exchanges from providing reproductive services (Ralph Northam’s Voting Record). Ed Gillespie has no prior experience working in the healthcare industry, however, he has done extensive work as a political operative. His governmental experience includes serving as communications director for the RNC and Bush-Cheney campaign along with working on the staff of Rep. Dick Armey (Hickey, Jennifer). Gillespie has no voting record because he has never successfully run for elected office. Gillespie does have the experience in politics and should be able to enact his policies if victorious. These backgrounds show that for a voter interested mainly in healthcare Northam does have more personal experience working directly in the field. However, personal experience working in the healthcare

This is important for future campaigns and shows the need for candidates to focus on healthcare as a major issue. Exit polling found that healthcare was the most important priority for Virginia voters. Thirty-nine percent of voters responded that healthcare was the most important issue for them. Seventy-seven percent of these respondents voted for Northam. Healthcare was more important than gun policy, abortion, immigration and taxes (Exit Polling Results). Another important thing shown from polling is that Gillespie’s support of repealing the Affordable Care Act caused him more harm than good with voters. In an article for CNBC Dan Mangan, who analyzed polling results, writes “More than twice as many people said Gillespie's support of Obamacare repeal made it less likely they would vote for him than said his support would make it likely he would win their vote. This has major implications for national politics and help shows the trend of the countries citizens towards more healthcare coverage and