Va. gubernatorial candidate to opponent: ‘Put down the Twitter and pick up a spine’

Two candidates for Virginia governor sparred Thursday on Twitter, as the race heats up in the final month before the primaries. 

Republican candidate Ed Gillespie knocked Democratic candidate Tom Perriello for receiving endorsements from progressive stalwarts Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Sanders has already stumped with Perriello at a college campus.

Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman who ran for Senate in 2014, is seeking to use those endorsements against Perriello and paint him as a far-left candidate.

{mosads}“With @SenWarren & @BernieSanders endorsements – @TomPerriello has shown us how far left he’ll go,” Gillespie tweeted on Thursday.

Perriello, who served in Congress from 2008 to 2010, fired back, calling on Gillespie to get off of Twitter and stand up to President Trump, who Perriello claims is being influenced by Russia.

“How about you put down the twitter and pick up a spine?,” Perriello tweeted in response. “Russia is puppeteering our president and you won’t make a peep. #WhatWouldReaganSay.”

The reference to Russia comes days after Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey shocked the political world and drew sharp criticism from members in both parties. Some have questioned the timing of Comey’s departure, given that he was leading his agency’s investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties between that country and Trump campaign aides.

Perriello and Gillespie will be competing in their parties’ respective primaries on June 13 for term-limited Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s (D) seat.

Perriello faces Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam in the Democratic primary, which polls show is a tight race.

In the GOP primary, Gillespie is the favorite to win the nomination. He faces Corey Stewart, former co-chair of Trump’s Virginia campaign, and state Sen. Frank Wagner.

The general election will be held on Nov. 7.